RWBY: Becoming Ourselves
by Novandalis
Summary: "Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about." It was more than just fate that brought Team RWBY together. Four girls, each with a secret they so desperately want to keep, not to mention a crush or two on fellow teammates. As each secret comes out, only time will tell if they can stay together, and live with who they are. Rated M for language and violence.
1. At First Sight

**Hi guys, and welcome to another new story! I'm hoping it goes over well since I'm gonna be hitting on some tougher things, some crazier things, and just kinda having fun with it as the story progresses. I promised a st** **ory unlike any before it, and that's exactly what I'm gonna deliver. If you're coming here as a fan of my other stories, I think you'll enjoy what I've got in store for you. If you've never read anything by me before, then strap in and let's get going!**

 **WARNING: This story contains very dark elements/themes including, but not limited to: murder, self harm, suicide, and sexual assault. If you're uncomfortable with any of these elements, this story many not be for you.**

 **(Also, per usual, I'm writing this under the assumption that the reader has watched the show. If you haven't, you'll probably be a little lost at times.)**

Chapter 1: At First Sight

"Alright, alright, that's enough," Ruby finally interjected, stepping between Yang and Weiss and holding her arms out to keep them apart. "Let's not use all our energy fighting. After all, we have initiation in the morning."

Weiss huffed and crossed her arms, "Maybe if she hadn't-"

"Nope! We're done here. No more arguing. It's time to chat and be friendly like normal girls."

Yang and Weiss exchanged a glance, and neither one of them seemed to believe that this was the end of their bickering. They resolved to nod and walk away from each other, with Ruby laying back down on her sleeping bag and letting out a long, drawn-out sigh. Meanwhile, Yang watched Weiss return to where she'd set up her own things before going over to join her sister.

Yang smiled, "So whatdya think of Beacon so far, sis?"

"Can I go back to Signal?" the younger girl asked, not joking as much as she wished she were. "How did I already manage to make someone hate me? Am I really that big a mess?"

"C'mon, don't be so overdramatic. Mark my words, you and her will be best friends by this time next week!"

"I doubt that," Blake commented from where she was sitting, earning an annoyed glare from Yang. "If it's any consolation, Ruby, you made a good first impression on me. I'd love to hang out sometime if I don't see you for any classes."

Yang gave her sister a pat on the back, "See? That's two friends and one enemy now! That's a net win for you!"

"Thanks," Ruby said with a hint of a smile, along with a tiny laugh. "So what'd you do with your friends all day, sis?"

"Not much, just walked around campus and talked and stuff. Met some people, made some friends, the usual. Oh, and I've already found her."

Ruby gave her a weird look, "Found her? Who were you looking for?"

"I wasn't looking for anyone, silly," Yang giggled. "I found the girl that I'll be going after this semester."

"Really? On day one?" her sister asked. She wasn't exactly one to talk, but she liked to keep her crushes to herself until she had decided on whether or not to act on them yet.

"Mhm! I knew it from the moment I saw her. Now I'm determined to make it happen."

Ruby smirked, rolling her eyes, "Good luck with that, sis. I expect an invitation to the wedding. You fell in love in one day, so the ceremony will be on Friday, right?"

Yang stuck out her tongue, and the two laughed as they settled in for the night. It had been an interesting first day for both of them, and Yang was especially lost in thought as she felt herself drifting off to sleep. She hadn't been lying about falling for this girl the instant she saw her, and the image of her face was there in the back of her mind. There was just one small problem she'd have to figure out how to deal with first.

' _Sooo... How hard could it be, right?_ ' the brawler wondered. ' _All I've gotta do is find her tomorrow in the forest, and then I'll have four years to win her over! Simple! There's the teeny tiny problem that she hates me and Ruby already, but I'm sure I can charm her over. I like a good challenge. Besides, it's not fun if there isn't a chase._ '

* * *

"So I have to ask," Weiss began, looking at Ruby while they waited for teams to be announced. "Did you have a backup plan to kill that Nevermore if the first one failed?"

Ruby gave an innocent smile, "Nope! I was pretty much relying on that. But, it worked, didn't it?"

The heiress smiled back and shook her head, "Unbelievable... Getting used to your... um... 'unique' style is going to take some getting used to."

"Think four years will be enough?" Yang grinned, getting an unamused glare in response.

' _This is so perfect!_ ' the brawler happily thought to herself. ' _With Weiss as Ruby's partner, I'll have an easy excuse to see her! She looks like she's warming up to Ruby, too, so maybe there's a better chance than I thought of getting her to like me enough to go on a date._ '

She wouldn't need that excuse after all, and was even more elated when she saw that the two of them were on the same team. Of course, she was just as happy that it meant being on a team with her sister as well. The girls made their way to their assigned dorm room once the ceremony had finished, and tossed their suitcases along the wall for the time being. They'd have plenty of time to get organised in the morning, but for now, they just wanted to relax.

"Ya know what I could use right now?" Yang asked, not directing it at anyone in particular. "Some chips. Anyone wanna come on a snack run?"

Weiss perked up, "I will. Stocking up the room sounds like a great idea, plus, I forgot to pack any instant coffee for the morning."

' _Well, if you insist,_ ' Yang thought, giggling to herself. The two girls left the room, and while Yang was happy to get some one-on-one time with Weiss, she wasn't the only one with a first day crush.

' _Okay, so what if she's cute?_ ' the leader scolded herself. ' _You've known her for a day, just relax. Sure, she's really cool and smells nice, but you don't know anything else about her. She could hate cookies for all you know! Just play it cool and get to know her for now._ '

She looked over at Blake, trying and failing to be nonchalant about it. The girl was sitting up against the wall reading her book, and Ruby couldn't stop herself from staring. It was rare that she developed strong feelings for someone so quickly, but Blake was exceptionally beautiful. She was terrified to start a conversation, but something caught her eye after a moment that made it much easier.

"Is that a new book?" Ruby asked, grabbing her teammate's attention. "Didn't you just start that other one about the guy with two souls?"  
Blake chuckled, "I'm a fast reader. Do you read much?"

"Not, not really," Ruby shrugged, not happy that she didn't share what seemed to be Blake's favourite hobby.

"It's never too late to start. Here, come sit with me. We can read it together if you want."

Ruby nodded excitedly and jumped at the chance to cuddle up in bed with Blake. Blake moved over to let Ruby have enough room to sit next to her, and Ruby tried her best not to act too energetic as she sat down. She sat a little closer than she meant to, but Blake either didn't seem to mind, or just didn't notice.

"So what's this book about? What's happened so far?" Ruby asked.

"Well, a lot of things," Blake explained, flipped back a few pages so she knew what to catch Ruby up on. "It's about a boy who runs away from an abusive family and has to find his way in the world. While he's looking for what he wants to do with his life, he meets a girl who was cursed to turn into a Beowolf by the full moon. An old, angry wizard cast a spell on her in a fit of anger at someone else."

"So he turned her into some kind of werewolf for stress release?" Ruby asked, looking somewhat uneasy. "That's horrible... What does she do?"

Blake smiled, "Well, with the help of the boy and the cat, she learns to live with it. She may be a monster, but she doesn't have to act like one. Anyway, they stick together, next they meet a stray cat that turns out to be a girl. She likes the way that cats are treated more than how people are, so she just lives as a cat."

Ruby made a face, "She can turn into a cat? That's weird."

"That's the part that gets you? I tell you the first girl was turned into a werewolf by a wizard, but a cat shapeshifter throws up a red flag? And hey, some Huntsmen and Huntresses have been known to have that ability. It's pretty rare, though."

"Really? I've never heard of that before. That's actually really cool. Is that where you left off, then?"

"Just about," Blake replied. "The three of them just ran into a girl hiding from the police. She's wanted for-"

The sound of a picture interrupted the conversation as they snapped their heads to see who it was. Yang stood in the doorway with her scroll in hand, grinning from ear to ear. "Oh, don't mind me. You two lovebirds go back to reading."

Ruby's face turned bright red with embarrassment, "DELETE THAT! WE WERE JUST TALKING!"

"Suuuure you were, sis," Yang snickered, furiously tapping on her screen. "Ignore me, I'm definitely not posting this everywhere."

"YANG!" Ruby exclaimed, leaping from Blake's bed and tackling her sister. They wrestled on the ground for a few seconds until Ruby managed to snatch the scroll from Yang's hand.

"Give that back!" Yang shouted, reaching over and around her sister, but not quick enough to steal it back. "Fine, I'll delete it!"

Ruby put on a smug, triumphant grin as she handed the device back, and watched while the picture was deleted. She nodded, "Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah. I don't see why you're so upset, though. It was just messing around, nothing that I haven't done before."

"Well... yeah..." Ruby muttered, not ready with a comeback. She wasn't going to admit the way she felt in front of Blake.

"Anyway," Blake interjected from her bed. "Ruby, care to come back over? We can start reading if you still want to."

The leader smiled, "Of course. Yang, think you can behave yourself this time?"

"Hey, don't look at me," the blonde smirked. "I'm not the one snuggled up in bed with someone. Anyway, I was just coming back to get my purse. Kinda helps to have that when you're going out to buy stuff, huh? Oh, Rubes, Adam's taking me and the rest of the gang out for ice cream once I get back. Wanna come with?"

"Adam?" Blake suddenly asked, a hint of fear in her voice.

"Yeah, he's one of our buddies from back at Signal. Why?"

Blake shied back a bit, "N-Nothing. I knew a guy named Adam, once. The name always puts me on edge..."

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Ruby asked as she got back on the bed. "And I'll pass, Yang. Tell everyone I say hi, though."

"No, that's alright. It's not something I really like to talk about. Here, let's just start reading. Have a nice night, Yang."

"Believe me, I will," Yang smiled before grabbing her purse and disappearing back through the door.

"Ughhh," Ruby groaned, taking her seat again beside Blake. "Sorry about her. She can be a bit much at times."

Blake nodded in agreement, "Little bit, but I have a feeling we'll get along. Now, where were we?"

They spent the rest of the right reading together, at least until Weiss got back and forced them to stop so she could go to sleep. Ruby got ready for bed and waited for Yang to get back before turning out the lights, and as she settled into the sheets, she felt a welcomed calmness for the first time since she'd arrived.

' _Okay, you've survived day two, and you've even made a close friend in Blake. Maybe we can hang out together after class. It's still so early, and I don't wanna rush anything, so I'll just wait and see where this goes. Then there's Weiss... She's... I guess she's warming up to me a bit. She was kinda nice after the whole Nevermore thing. Maybe we can end up being friends after all._ '

The next morning didn't exactly help Ruby's case with her new partner. After Weiss storming out of Port's class as a result of their fight, Ruby was left in a sad mood for the rest of her afternoon classes. Her talk with Ozpin helped a little, and gave her a few ideas on what to do next, but that didn't change that Weiss once again hated her. Luckily, she didn't have any other classes that today. She sighed as she took her seat in her last class, which unfortunately started at six o'clock.

"Hey," Blake smiled as she sat down beside her leader, startling her. "How're you doing?"

Ruby shook her head, "Not good... I think I'll be fine, though. Professor Ozpin and I talked a bit, and I think I've got an idea of what to do now."

"If you're sure. I'm always here to talk if you need me. So what made you want to take this class? I thought you said you didn't read much."

"And I'd like to start," Ruby happily replied. "Besides, this is a class on fairytales. How bad could it be?"

Blake raised her eyebrows, "It's the historical analysis of fairytales. It won't be an easy A."

' _True, but oh well,_ ' Ruby thought as the professor called attention to the front of the room. ' _I'm mostly here for one story in particular, but the syllabus says we won't get to it until the end of the semester. On the bright side, this is still a class that I can hang with Blake for._ '

She very quickly picked up on how boring the class would be, but nonetheless, she did her best to pay attention. She was determined to make a better student and leader out of herself after this morning, although this lecture was going to test her patience. She took notes for the first half of class, which ended up turning to doodles. She was still listening, and not completely goofing off, but sitting still and paying perfect attention wasn't going to happen.

Blake glanced over at Ruby's notes after a while and had to stifle a laugh. "What are you drawing?" she whispered, even though she could see the drawing perfectly.

"N-Nothing," Ruby blushed, trying to cover the pictures with her hands.

"Yeah, right. Was that you making out with a vampire version of Gavin from the Achieve Men?"

"Shut up," Ruby hissed, beyond embarrassed. "And it's Michael..."

Blake grinned, "Hey, I'm not gonna kink-shame. You do you." She started to looked at some of the other drawings scattered around the margins of her leader's notebook, and started to notice a trend. "You really have a thing for vampires, don't you?"

Ruby gave a shy smile, "I think they're cool. I've always had a thing for monsters and mythical creatures, which is another reason I took this class. There's just something about vampires that... _enthralls_ me."

"Bad pun; three out of ten," Blake chuckled. "I think we're covering some vampire tales at the end of the semester. Maybe we'll learn a way to actually turn you into one."

Ruby stuck out her tongue, "Oh shush. I'd never want that. Needing to drink blood, avoiding lots of sun, bleh! Talk about a pain in the a-"

"Ahem," the professor interrupted from the chalkboard. She was a short, older woman, with a look about her that said she took teaching very seriously. "Is there something you'd like to share, Miss Rose?"

Ruby shrunk back into her seat, "No, ma'am." The woman nodded and went back to lecturing, and Ruby let out a sigh of relief. "Anyway, what was I saying? Oh, yeah. In my most humble of opinions, being a vampire isn't as cool as it sounds."

"If you say so," Blake smirked. "Werewolves are cooler anyway."

Blake's comment sparked a very heated, but still somewhat friendly, debate between the two girls that raged on until it was time to go to sleep, and was declared a draw. Ruby waited until Blake and Yang went to sleep, then pulled out all of her books to study. All she wanted was to make Weiss think better of her, to prove that she deserved to be here. But, after such a long first day of classes, she didn't make it very far before she passed out on top of her notes. Her night was made when Weiss woke her to make up for earlier, and as the heiress left the room, she finally felt at home here.

* * *

Weiss closed the door behind her and started down the hall with the intention of going to the library. There were a few books she wanted to check out before tomorrow, and now seemed like as good a time as any. She rounded the corner into the stairwell and didn't notice the person standing there at first, but she certainly did once they spoke up.

"Hey, got a minute?" Yang asked, making her teammate jump. "Oops, sorry! Wasn't trying to scare you."

The heiress shot her a glare, "Yeah, well, try harder next time. Wait, you were in your bed, sound asleep, just a second ago! I saw you laying there! How did you possibly beat me here?"

"I have my ways. Listen, I just wanted to say thanks for making up to Ruby. I'm sure it means the world to her right now. She was in tears all afternoon from your fight. I know that she can be a lot to handle sometimes, and more than a little immature, but you'll never find someone as dedicated to being a Huntress as she is. She's probably still on a high from being here in the first place."

"Could be, and no problem," Weiss sighed. "It's my fault for snapping. I've been having a bit of a rough time lately, and I shouldn't have lashed out at her. I can tell how much she wants to be here. She'll make a great team leader."

"Do you wanna talk about anything?" Yang asked, sounding concerned. Her big sister instincts always kicked in whenever someone didn't seem okay.

"No, but thank you. It's something I have to work out on my own. I'm sure you don't believe that, but just take my word for now. If I need anything, I'll come to you first."

Yang nodded and offered Weiss a hug, and was surprised when the heiress accepted. She held her close, feeling Weiss squeeze back just as hard, and felt a wave of relief sweeping over her for a number of reasons. Whatever was wrong with her, Weiss seemed to find some comfort in knowing that Yang was there for her.

' _Well, she doesn't seem to hate me anymore,_ ' Yang thought. ' _I wonder what's on her mind that she wouldn't wanna talk about. I mean, I guess she's only known me for a few days, so I shouldn't be expecting her to open up to me. Besides, it's not like I'd jump to tell her about what I've been hiding. Maybe one day if it hasn't caught up to me by then..._ '

Yang squeezed a little tighter as the thoughts and images came back to her. She wanted to forget, but she knew she never would. For now, though, she savoured this moment with her crush since she didn't know when she'd have this opportunity again.

"Thanks, Yang," Weiss smiled as they came apart. "You seem really nice. I'm sorry that we got off on the wrong foot."

"No worries, it's all water under the bridge now. Would you maybe wanna hang out after class this week? Chat and be friends and stuff?"

Weiss laughed and rolled her eyes, "Sure, that sounds wonderful. I'm finished tomorrow at three." She walked off, and Yang blushed while she turned and started back to their dorm.

' _YES YES YES YES YES!_ ' she excitedly screamed in her head, having to actively stop herself from yelling it out loud. ' _That's a first date in the making! Wow, I'm actually shaking. I don't think I've ever fallen for someone this hard before. Alright, so let's see... Yang Schnee, or Weiss Xiao Long?_ "

 **Yang's line is actually what my girlfriend told her friends back home when we met on the first day of college. XD "I've found the girl that I'll be going after." It's been a year and a half since we started dating, so I guess you could say that love at first sight works out sometimes. (; Okay, enough about my personal life. Be sure to follow and leave a review if you liked the chapter! See ya next time! I hope! (:**

 **If you'd like to help support me, there are links on my profile for my** **Pátreon** **page, and a donation link if you're feeling generous. It's never required, but it's greatly appreciated. (:**


	2. Past Deeds

**For those of you who saw the other posts I've made, I finally talked to my doctor and got help for my depression. I'm on medication, and I'm two weeks clean of suicidal thoughts or actions. Here's to getting better. (:**

 **Looks like Weiss Xiao Long was the most popular choice. Can't say I blame you, it has a nice ring to it. I saw a few people also say Blake Rose for the ladybug couple, and I must say, I'm very partial to that over Ruby Belladonna. And no, it's not just because my name is Blake Rose. Well, okay, maybe a little bit... :p Anyway, let's get into chapter two! Are you guys ready for the first of the four secrets to come out?**

Chapter 2: Past Deeds

"Hey, what'd you get for number eight?" Yang whispered to Weiss.

It was her last class of the day, and the professor had decided to end it with a pop quiz. Weiss was prepared like she always was, but Yang was anything but.

The heiress rolled her eyes, not about to risk the teacher hearing her say an answer out loud, and lightly tapped her pencil three times on the desk. ' _Three taps for C,_ ' she thought, watching Yang mark off the answer. ' _She's so lucky I have a nice side._ '

The girls finished at about the same time and waked to put their quizzes on the front desk. Yang smiled as they exited the lecture hall, "Thanks for the assist. I owe you one."

"No, you owe me four," Weiss corrected with an exasperated sigh. "You still 'owe me one' for the other three pop quizzes I helped you with."

"I did pay you back!" Yang exclaimed.

"Giving me your notes for when I was sick doesn't count. I couldn't read your handwriting and you barely had anything down."

"Ungrateful much?" Yang sarcastically huffed, then started to smile. "I think I'm gonna hit the gym and take a shower before we head out. I'll meet you outside your last class when I'm done. Ready for our super fun day as BFF's?"

Weiss rolled her eyes and covered her face with her palm, "We'll see about that last part, but alright. I'll see you in an hour and half."

Yang nodded and said goodbye as she jogged off, and Weiss let out a long sigh as she started toward her next class. Part of her was excited to have this afternoon out, and another was absolutely terrified. She wasn't the best at making friends or being fun in social situations, and knowing Yang, she figured she'd be doing exactly that.

' _Maybe this could be good for me,_ ' the heiress thought as she arrived and took her seat. ' _Step out of my comfort zone a little, be social... Oh God, I really hope she doesn't take me to a party. I'll be such a mess, and then there's the drinking and everything else and- Relax, relax, Weiss. You're going out for the afternoon, not the evening. She'll probably just... take you to an arcade or something. That sounds like something Yang would like, right? Wow, I really don't know much about her. I guess this will be more of an adventure than I thought it would be._ '

* * *

Yang was waiting on the benches outside Weiss' classroom just like she'd said as class let out, and stood up with an abnormally silly smile to greet her teammate. She'd changed into a black short-skirt and a yellow-orange t-shirt since it was a little warm out for her usual outfit.

The heiress huffed as she walked over, "Great, now I'll have to put something on to blend in with you."

"Whoa, you own casual clothes?" Yang teased, getting an even more annoyed look from Weiss. "Oh come on, if we're gonna be friends then you're gonna have to get used to my sarcasm eventually."

"'Eventually' is the key word. Let's go."

Weiss traded out her school uniform for a pair of white jean-shorts and a light-blue blouse. It took about fifteen minutes to decide on the outfit after going back and forth between so many others, but was finally forced to pick one thanks to Yang's impatience. They made their way into town and started walking down main street without any destination in mind, just idly chatting about school like they had been since they left.

"It's a beautiful day out," Yang commented as they walked. "No clouds, lots of sun, a nice breeze."

Weiss shrugged, "It's a bit hot for me, but otherwise it's nice."

"What's the matter, ice queen? Afraid you'll melt?"

"Oh shut up. You're telling me you don't think it's too warm out?"

"Not at all," Yang grinned. "Is that why you wore such a revealing top? Less fabric to stay cool? Ya know, come to think of it, I don't think I've seen you wear something that low-cut before."

Weiss didn't understand what she meant at first, but a nod in the direction of her chest got the message across. She glared up at Yang and folded her arms, intentionally covering some of her exposed cleavage, "Hey, not everything I own is ultra-conservative. I just don't get the opportunity to wear it often is all. And how is this _that_ revealing?"

Yang smirked, "It's not; I just like messing with you. C'mon, I've got our first stop for the day in mind. It's about three blocks up the street."

Weiss nodded and followed along, expecting to arrive at some hipster clothing store, but was pleasantly surprised when they came up to a smoothie bar. The line was fairly long thanks to the heat, but she was more than happy to wait. The two girls came to the front of the line and were greeted by the cashier, and Yang stepped up to order.

"Large strawberry-banana, please," the blonde smiled, then turned to Weiss. "Here, order yours. My treat."

Weiss shook her head, "No, no, that's okay. You don't-"

"I insist. Whatdya want?"

"Passion-guava-mango, please," the heiress replied, starting to blush. "Thanks, Yang. I'm just not used to people offering to pay for me. Usually I'm the one covering the bill because, well, duh."

Yang snickered as they were handed their drinks and picked out a table to sit at, "Hey, just because you're rich doesn't mean other people can't treat you every now and again. Besides, this was my idea, and I'm sure you won't let me pay at wherever you're thinking of going after this."

Weiss gave an innocent shrug and took a sip, her eyes lighting up the second the cold drink hit her tongue. "Mmm... This was a really good idea."

"Thanks! It might surprise you, but I _do_ have those from time to time. So, what should I know about you, Weiss?"

"Um... I'm not sure," the heiress shrugged. "I think you know most of the big things."

Yang rolled her eyes, "I know. I wanna know more of the little things. Stuff friends would know. Um... Favourite band? Favourite flavour of ice cream? Favourite color?"

"The Achieve Men, neapolitan, and blue," Weiss smiled. "What about you?"

"Yeeeesss! Achieve Men for life! Oh, um, chocolate and yellow. Let's see... How old were you when you had your first kiss?"

"Straight to the good stuff, huh? I was... thirteen? No, wait, fourteen. I'm guessing you were about eleven for yours?"

"Fifteen," Yang chuckled.

"Bullshit," Weiss replied, not buying it at all. "There is absolutely no way I had my first kiss before you."

Yang smirked, waiting for Weiss to take another drink from her glass, "I think it's time to blow your mind for real, then. Ready? I'm a virgin."

"WhaGHH?" the heiress exclaimed, choking on her smoothie. She coughed and sputtered for a moment while Yang laughed at what she'd done. "Are you serious? But... How? That makes no sense! Even _I'm_ not a virgin!"

"I'm flirty, not a slut," Yang chuckled, giving her most innocent smile.

"Okay, okay, but I still don't get it. You are, without a doubt, the prettiest girl at Beacon. You could literally have anyone you want, and I'm assuming the same was true back at Signal. What made you not want to go for it? I'm certainly not saying it's a bad thing that you've kept your virginity, I think it's rather impressive, but how?"

The blonde shrugged, "Hey, just because I'm bi doesn't mean I'm a slut. I also haven't found the right person. I know that sounds cliche, but I actually mean it."

"How so?" Weiss asked.

"It's a little tough to explain, but I just don't feel attracted to people in that way from the start. I can say whether or not someone's hot, but that doesn't make me wanna jump into bed with them. I need a connection, I need to know them. Like, Pyrrha is fucking gorgeous, and I wouldn't say no to some kisses and cuddles, but I wouldn't sleep with her. Not yet, at least."

Weiss nodded, "That's... really interesting, and really sweet. So even if one of the Achieve Men walked up to this table right now and asked you to go back to their place, you'd say no?"

"If it's to cuddle and make out, then hell yes," Yang giggled. "But no, I wouldn't sleep with them. The desire to just isn't there. But, it's not like it's a bad thing. I'm really happy that my first time will be with someone I really love and care about."

"I still don't get what you mean by a connection with them. What does it take to make one?"

Yang thought about the question for a moment, "Umm... It's hard to say, honestly. Like, it's something along the lines of a really close friendship. I need to enjoy their company, stuff like that. It only happens with people I'd wanna go out of my way to spend time with. I don't control when the switch flips in my brain, but yeah, that's the best explanation I can give. Sorry if I'm going on and on."

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad you shared it with me," Weiss chuckled. Her face started to fall then, as if something had just come to her mind that she wished hadn't.

"Weiss? You okay?"

The heiress didn't reply for a moment, looking lost in thought. "Huh?" she said as she snapped back. "Oh, yeah. Sorry, I uh... nevermind."

"What's wrong?" Yang asked, starting to look concerned.

Weiss shook her head, "Nothing, just um... Just that thing that I mentioned the other night. I'm okay, though. Really."

"At least put some effort into lying," Yang grinned. "C'mon, you can talk to me."

"It's... complicated. I don't exactly know how to describe it. Do you ever just feel... wrong? Wrong as yourself, like you don't fit in your own skin?"

"Wrong how?" Yang asked.

The heiress sighed, "I don't know, just... wrong..."

Yang could see her teammate's face rapidly falling, and even saw a hint of tears forming in the girl's eyes. "Hey, hey, it's okay," she said with a warm smile. "We don't have to talk about anything if you're not comfortable with it. Now c'mon, let's go turn that frown upside down."

"You're so weird," Weiss giggled, wiping her eyes. A thought crossed her mind then that made her laugh even more. "So, you need a good friendship before you can sleep with someone, huh? Have I made the cut yet?"

The comment didn't carry any real meaning with it for Weiss, just an off-hand statement that she thought would be funny. For Yang, though, it meant quite a lot. The blonde's face immediately turned a bright red, and she mumbled a few broken syllables to herself as she tried to speak. Her crush had basically asked if she liked her, and her mind was racing trying to decide what to say.

"U-Uh... I..." Yang stuttered, trying not to make her nervousness so apparent. "I-I mean, you're definitely cute. Like, I'd give you a nine and a half out of ten. I can't say I feel the urge to jump into bed, though."

Every word was truthful, and she rather liked that she had been able to say it like this. Weiss now knew that she liked her, but not necessarily in that way. She smiled to herself, knowing that this would make the big reveal go more smoothly in the future.

Weiss pouted, "Nine and a half? What lost me half a point?"

"Your scar," Yang flatly replied, then laughed when she saw how much she'd offended her teammate. "Just joking. I think your scar is actually kinda cute. The only thing keeping you from being a ten is how high-class you are. I don't mean that in a bad way, I'm just not used to it is all."

"Oh please, I'm not _that_ high-class. Sure, my father has more money than... well... everyone, really, but I'm not like that. I have my expensive tastes with some things, but there's plenty of others that I like being normal."

"Such as?" Yang inquired, grinning widely.

Weiss smirked back at her, "I think I know where we're going for dinner now. That is, if you want to hang out for that long."

"Sounds great," Yang smiled. "Now, back to something you kinda skimmed over. You're not a virgin, huh? How'd that happen?"

"The same way it usually happens?" Weiss rhetorically asked, grinning a bit from using some sarcasm back at her teammate.

"Oh c'mon, you know what I mean. Who, when, how it was, that stuff."

The heiress giggled, starting to blush, "It happened this past summer. We both had a crush on each other, but we knew that long distance wouldn't work out since I was moving this far for school, so we decided to just have some fun before we said goodbye."

"How was it?" Yang grinned, noticing how red Weiss' cheeks had grown. "Sorry, I don't mean to pry, you just don't strike me as the kind of girl to just sleep with someone."

"How strange, you strike me as the kind of girl that would," Weiss teased, making them both laugh. "I mean, it wasn't like we'd just met and decided to have a one night stand. We'd both had a crush on each other for a while, but our parents would never have allowed it. And it was actually a lot of fun. I was nervous, but she was really gentle and-"

"She?" Yang asked with an amused smile.

"Oh please, don't look so surprised. Do I really look straight to you?"

"Yes, actually," Yang laughed, trying as hard as she could to hide her excitement. "Never would've guessed that you were gay, and I like to think I have a pretty good gay-dar."

"I'm about as straight as a circle," the heiress grinned. "You said you're bi, right?"

"Mhm. I usually lean more toward guys than girls, but I go both ways. If you're cute and fun, then you've got a shot."

"Hottest person in the room right now?" Weiss asked for fun, looking around the store since she knew the question would come back to her.

' _You,_ ' Yang thought, but kept it to herself.

The blonde shrugged, "Um... Either the tall guy behind the counter or the cute brunette girl waiting to order. Second to last in line."

"I agree on the girl," Weiss chuckled. "So we're both not straight? That's half the team. Think we can convert Ruby and Blake and be team LGBT?"

Yang had to cover her mouth to keep from spitting her smoothie everywhere while she laughed. "Holy shit, you made a joke! I'm so proud of you! And I dunno about Blake, but Ruby's also bi. We came out to each other about two years ago and then to our dad at the same time. He just smiled and told us to bring nice girls home."

"Lucky," Weiss mumbled. "My father would kill me if he ever found out, so I just act like I'm straight around him. Pretending to like boys is really annoying, though! They're so gross and weird and bah!"

Yang giggled at the outburst, "Relax, I'm not gonna tell him. And hey, maybe he won't take it as badly as you think he will."

"I wish I had your optimism..."

"Ooo, I've got an idea!" Yang beamed. "Ask Velvet out! I'm sure your dad would just _love_ the idea of you being in a lesbian relationship with a Faunus."

Weiss rolled her eyes, "As cute as she is, I'd rather live to see graduation. Once I'm not financially dependant on my father, I'll gladly ask someone out, but not until then."

"I'll mark my calendar," Yang smiled. She was getting a bit more comfortable flirting now, and wasn't doing that much to hide it. Her hope was that Weiss would just assume she was always like this since she'd mentioned being a flirt before.

"You're unbelievable," Weiss laughed. "This is a lot of fun, though. I've never had a friend I could be so open with before."

"I'm glad I can be that friend, then. Now, what else do I want to know about you..."

The girls talked and laughed for another forty-five minutes until Yang decided to take Weiss up on her offer for dinner. The heiress happily obliged, and led Yang in the direction of the docks. They arrived at a local seafood restaurant and got a table for two, skipping the twenty-minute wait thanks to the hostess recognising Weiss. They both ended up getting a bucket of soft-shell crab, and from the moment the food was set down, Yang saw a brand new side of her teammate that she rather enjoyed.

Weiss tucked her napkin into her blouse, picked up her mallet, and went to town on her entree. It was the first time Yang had seen the girl eat with her hands and not care about how she looked doing it. The heiress had juices and spices dripping from her chin, bits of shell all over her fingers, and a goofy smile from being able to do all of this. Both girls were quiet while they initially dug in, but the conversation soon picked back up again.

"Sorry, who are my options again?" Weiss asked, wiping her mouth off on her makeshift bib.

Yang smirked, "Jaune, Port, and Glynda."

"I hate you," the heiress groaned. "Um... Marry Jaune, kill Port, and fuck Glynda."

"Ooo, into older women, huh? I can see it. Although, I guess you'd be _her_ sugar mama."

Weiss glared across the table, then spouted a grin, "Ruby, Blake, and I."

"Huh?"

"Just continuing the game," Weiss replied with a playful shrug. "Fuck, marry, kill; your teammates. Go."

Yang's cheeks turned a bright shade of red as she sank into her seat, "U-Uh... Wait, shit! I don't wanna kill any of them! And Ruby- FUCK! Hmm... Well, I'm definitely gonna marry you, and I can name about six things that'd be wrong about me sleeping with Ruby, so... Marry you, fuck Blake, kill Ruby. Just don't tell either of them I said that."

Weiss started to blush, "Not a word. I'm curious, though; why were you 'definitely' going to marry me?"

"Nine and a half outta ten, remember?" Yang said with a wink.

"Hey, that reminds me," the heiress suddenly replied. "You said you thought my scar was cute. Why? I've never had anyone say that before."

Yang gave a bashful smile, "Well, it's unique. I like things that stand out, things that're one of a kind, especially people. Your scar shows what you've been through. It's a little badge of honour that's unique to you and your past. That, and something about it's just cute to me. I dunno."

"Again, you're so weird," the heiress giggled, blushing even more from the compliments.

"True, but where's the fun in being normal? All the good stuff in life comes from going off the beaten path and being yourself."

Weiss rolled her eyes, "Whatever you say." She reached her drink and lifted it up, smiling and gesturing for Yang to do the same. "I think that deserves a toast, actually."

"Here's to being ourselves," Yang smiled, tapping their cups together.

* * *

"Okay, we're here," Weiss said as she and Blake arrived at the campus gardens.

A few weeks had passed since Weiss and Yang's day out, and Weiss' mood toward her teammates had drastically improved. Blake revealing herself as a Faunus and running away put a slight damper on her progress, but now that they'd worked things out, the heiress was, for the most part, smiling once again. That wasn't the case now, though.

After getting back to the room following the incident at the docks, Blake had asked Weiss to go for a walk with her. The Faunus girl said she had something to say that she didn't want the rest of the team to know. Weiss was deeply concerned, but agreed and had followed her out of the dorms. They took a seat on a bench, and sat in silence for a minute while Blake gathered her thoughts.

' _I wonder what this is about,_ ' Weiss thought, keeping her eyes on her teammate. ' _She looked so happy when we were coming home. Is she afraid that I still don't accept her?_ '

"Can you tell me why you had to bring me out here now?" the heiress asked. "What's going on that you wouldn't want the rest of the team to know? Is it about the way I reacted before?"

Blake shook her head, "No, that's not it. I only want to tell you because it's really, really personal to you, and I know it'll take some time to process. I just... I need you to promise me that after I tell you what I have to tell you, you won't get too upset. You'll have every right to be, but please try to understand. It's not something I'm proud of."

"You just told me you were a member of the White Fang, and I handled it fairly well. Sort of. Regardless, whatever you have to say, I can handle it. I promise."

"It's about something I did..." Blake sighed, feeling her stomach tying itself in knots. "The day that I ran away, you talked about family members going missing... Well... I was there when one did. It's my fault..."

Weiss' passive face immediately fell into fear, "Blake... You're not saying... Who? Who was it?"

"I never heard a name, but I remember what he looked like. Average height, short hair, goatee, green eyes, glasses. There was a scar on his chin, too."

"Uncle Eric..." Weiss gasped, recognising him from the mention of his scar. "He went missing two years ago... M-My father said that he... Blake, what happened to him?"

The Faunus girl sat still for a moment before responding, "He... I... Adam made me... I didn't want to do it..."

"Blake, what happened? Tell me. I need to know. Is he...?"

"Dead?" Blake finished, getting a hesitant nod from Weiss. "Yes, he is... Adam tried to ransom him, but your family didn't meet the demands. We were on a video call, and Adam... Adam made me do it..."

"Y-You killed him?" Weiss asked, her voice cracking on the last word. Her eyes were tearing up, and behind them, a burning anger steadily grew.

"Please believe me that I didn't want to, but... I didn't really have a choice. If I hadn't, I would've been beaten, and your uncle killed by someone who wouldn't show mercy. If there's any comfort there, I did make it quick. Adam always delighted in making it painful for the victim and the viewer, but I never did."

Weiss shut her eyes and spoke through clenched teeth, desperately trying to keep her composure, "How...? How did he die? Exactly how mercyful were you?"

"It was instantaneous, I swear," Blake reassured, feeling a twinge of fear. "I was told to slit his throat, but I couldn't bring myself to make him suffer, or anyone for that matter. I... I shot him... It was two bullets to make sure, and I shot from behind. He didn't see it coming and wouldn't have felt a thing... Weiss, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I knew that you'd want me dead when I told you, but I couldn't keep it a secret from you. You deserve to know, especially if we're on a team together. I'm sorry..."

Weiss sat absolutely motionless, the only movement from the tears that rolled down her cheeks and fell from her chin. She was sniffling as she tried her best not to cry, but she couldn't hold it in. She let out a loud wail and buried her head in her hands, crying while Blake very gently rubbed her back to try to calm her. Blake felt horrible, beyond horrible. She wanted desperately to make her teammate feel better, but she knew there wasn't really a way right now.

The Faunus girl sighed, "I'm sorry... Do you want me to leave? Give you some space?"

"No," Weiss quickly replied, muffled through her palms. "I just... I miss him so much..."

"Tell me about him," Blake said. Weiss looked up with a completely blank stare, not understanding what she meant. "Your uncle. Tell me about him. What was he like?"

The heiress stared at Blake for a moment, then wiped her eyes and showed a faint smile, "H-He was my favourite uncle growing up. He'd always take Winter and I out to play since my father was always busy. He didn't have any kids of his own, so he'd let us get away with pretty much anything we wanted. I wish... I wish I'd known that the last time I saw him was really the last time... I would've told him how much he meant to me..."

"He mentioned you," Blake ventured, although she wasn't sure if it was a good idea. She'd said it nonetheless, and could only hope that it would come as a comfort now. "I didn't make the connection to him meaning you until now."

"H-He did?" Weiss asked, sounding surprised. "Wh-What did he say?"

"It wasn't by name, but before we had the call, he asked us... he asked us if he'd see his nieces again... I even told him yes because I thought that the ransom would go through... I didn't think that... that... I'm so sorry..."

Weiss nodded in acknowledgement and stared blankly at the ground. ' _Of all the things she could've said..._ ' Weiss dismally thought, tears returning to her eyes. ' _I can't deal with this right now... I can't... Is there anything else she's done that she's been hiding? Please be no. Please be no..._ '

"Is that everything?" the heiress asked, getting a cautious nod from Blake. "Okay, good... I really don't know what to say now."

Blake sighed and looked down at her lap, "I understand. I don't expect you to forgive me..."

"No, no, it's not that. I hold the White Fang responsible, not you. You've changed, you've made that very clear, and what I said at the docks is still true; I don't care about your past as long as it's behind you now. That being said... I'm going to need some time to come to terms with this. I forgive you, but I'll need time."

"Of course," Blake nodded. "Take as long as you need. If you want me to keep my distance for a while, I completely understand."

Weiss shook her head, "Don't. If anything, I'll want you to stay closer. You're a good person, Blake."

The heiress sighed and leant her head on Blake's shoulder. She started to cry again, but not like she had before. It was much quieter now, out of sadness rather than rage and despair. She needed a moment to rest and recharge, and Blake was happy to offer herself to make that happen. She put her arm around Weiss' shoulders and gingerly stroked the girl's hair, listening to the hiccups and sniffling slowly fade away.

"Are you ready to head back?" Blake asked a few minutes later once her teammate's breathing had returned to a steady rhythm.

"I think so," Weiss replied. She sat up and wiped her eyes again, giving a smile and a tiny laugh. "Thanks, Blake."

The Faunus girl hesitantly smiled back, "I don't think I deserve it, but you're welcome. I'm always here if you need to talk." She paused to let out a long sigh as the two of them stood up, then chuckled as they started to walk back. "I know it wasn't good news, but I'm really glad to have gotten that off my chest. It'd been eating at me a lot lately."

"You're right that I didn't want to hear it, but it's still good that you told me. And you're sure there isn't anything else you're holding from me? I promise I won't get upset, but I'd really like to know."

"No, there isn't," Blake reassured, smiling even more. "I think this is the first time in a long time that I can say I'm not keeping any secrets. Well, not from my friends at least. It's feels good to not be hiding."

"Yeah..." Weiss said under her breath, looking a little sad. She'd come to a realisation after being out with Yang, but she'd been too afraid to admit it. That had just changed, though, and Blake had given her the confidence she needed to say it.

' _I think I'm finally ready to tell them,_ ' she thought, perking back up as she looked off in the direction of their dorms. ' _When we get back to the room, I'll tell them._ '

"Did you say something?" Blake asked, picking up her teammate's mumble thanks to her hidden pair of ears.

Weiss simply smiled, "No more secrets."

 **Hope you liked the chapter! That's one secret down and three to go, and by the sound of it, I'm guessing that Weiss will be revealing hers next chapter.**


	3. Do What Feels Right

**Another chapter, and another secret ready to be revealed. Think you're ready for it?**

Chapter 3: Do What Feels Right

As much as she wanted to say it when she got back, Weiss wasn't able to muster the courage she needed to talk to her teammates. She didn't mind too much, though. The last few days had been stressful enough, and she didn't want to run the risk of piling any more on. Once things settled back down, she found herself having more and more trouble keeping it in, but she felt as though she needed to wait for the right time to say it. After all, she knew how badly her teammates could react.

Two weeks passed after the docks incident, and with winter break fast approaching, Weiss told herself that her secret would come out before they went home. Having three weeks stuck at home having to keep it in would be torture, and she knew she'd need the support of her teammates to get her through it. There were thoughts of how to simply avoid going home as well, but she knew her father would never allow it.

"You okay, Weiss?" Ruby asked during dinner, noticing that her partner had barely touched any of her food. The heiress' mood had dropped dramatically since that morning, and her leader was growing concerned.

Weiss didn't reply for a moment, then shook her head and looked up as she snapped out of her daydream. "Hm? Oh, yes, I'm fine. Why?"

"Well, you didn't eat lunch, you're not eating your dinner, aaaand you've kinda been brooding all day. What's on your mind?"

"C'mon, you can tell us," Yang encouraged with a soft smile.

Weiss shot her leader a glare at her comment, but she couldn't argue. She wasn't trying to hide her behavior, but she wasn't trying to make a big deal out of it either. She stayed quiet while she thought about what to say, then sighed.

"I..." she began, but quickly trailed off. "There's something I've been hiding for a while, and I've been trying to think of how to tell you guys. It's really personal and not everyone takes it seriously, so I've just been hesitant."

Blake gave a soft chuckle, "Weiss, if you think were about to belittle you for anything that's affecting you this much, you're wrong. Whatever it is, we're here to help."

"That's right," Ruby added, still smiling. "So let's talk. What's got you so down in the dumps? Is it school? One of us? A boy?"

Weiss rolled her eyes, "A boy? Seriously? You know I'm a lesbian, right?"

"Ohhhh, right. So... it's a girl?"

"NO!" Weiss exclaimed, then started to laugh. "Sorry, sorry. No, it's not about a girl. It's about me."

"Keep going," Yang said. "What about you?"

' _Alright, here we go..._ ' Weiss thought as she felt her legs starting to quiver. Butterflies were welling up in her stomach, her face and arms felt tingly, and her heart had nearly doubled in speed. ' _Oh my God, I can't remember the last time I was this nervous... Breathe, Weiss, breathe... It's going to be okay._ '

The heiress took a deep breath and slowly let it out, "Okay, here it goes... I'm genderfluid. I've tried to suppress it for a long time, but I don't think I can anymore. I can't keep acting like I'm happy when I'm not."

There was a short pause, which felt like an eternity to Weiss. The secret she'd kept hidden for so long, her absolute deepest desire to not be the princess she'd been made into, was finally out in the open. It was as if a massive weight had been lifted off her, both physically and mentally, but it wasn't over yet. Now she was hoping that her teammates would accept her.

"How long have you known?" Blake asked.

"Well... I guess as long as I can remember. I've always wanted to do more 'guy' stuff, but my father would never let me. I was always expected to be a 'proper lady' and act like a 'good girl' should. I hated it, every minute of it. Even on the days when I feel the most feminine, I just want to look like a tomboy. Everywhere you see and hear a girl should act, and I've just never related. I always wanted to do the things the boys did."

Yang looked a bit confused, "Are you sure you're not trans? You sound like you're saying you'd rather be a guy than a girl."

"I don't think so," Weiss replied, shaking her head. "Don't get me wrong, it's a nice idea, but I don't think the pull has ever been that one-sided. I have my more masculine days, and I have my more feminine days. I just wish I'd been able to express it more. I know it's not an easy thing to understand and relate to, but you really have no idea how hard it was having to live up to my father's expectations when all they did was make me hate myself more and more every day."

Ruby gave a comforting smile, "Well, you're not at home anymore, so you can express yourself however you want! Do you want us to start using different pronouns for you or anything?"

Weiss stopped for a moment, looking at the supportive faces all looking up at her. She was floored by how accepting they were all being. It almost seemed too good to be true. "So... you don't care?" she asked.

"Of course not," Yang smiled, standing up and wrapping the heiress in a hug. "Do whatever makes you happy. If you want, I have a bunch of extra clothes you can look through if you want something a little less girly. I think most of my tops are gonna be a little too big in the chest for you, but I've got plenty of shorts and stuff. I'm sure we can make you a nice new outfit."

Weiss tightly hugged back, not knowing what to say. For how long she'd been holding her secret it, and having expected far worse reactions, this was a dream come true. She tightened her embrace as she felt tears of joy rushing her her eyes, and let them out while she nestled her head into Yang's shoulder. Ruby and Blake stood up and joined in the hug as well, holding together until Weiss had calmed down.

"Th-Thank you, all of you," the heiress sniffled, wiping her eyes. "You don't know how much this means to me. I honestly wasn't expecting you to be so accepting."

Blake smiled, "You accepted me for being a Faunus. It's the least I could do. Seriously, though, I'm glad you know who are and are comfortable telling us. Going back to Ruby's question, do you have a different set of pronouns you want us to use?"

"No, that's alright, but I appreciate you both asking. And Yang, I'm definitely taking you up on your offer. On that note, would one of you mind coming with me to Professor Ozpin's office tomorrow? I wanted to ask him if I can wear the boy's school uniform. I never want to wear a skirt again in my life."

"Noooo!" Ruby whined, ending with a giggle to show that she was joking. "Now I'll be the only one in a combat skirt!"

Yang rolled her eyes, "Oh hush, sis. You've still got Nora and Pyrrha. Anyway, I'll go with you, Weiss. Lemme know if there's anything else I can help you with. I'm more than happy to."

"You guys are the best," Weiss beamed, looking between the supportive faces of her teammates. "I'm so glad I'm on this team."

Everyone sat back down, and Weiss finally started eating. She was still shaking and felt a little light-headed, but now it was because of how elated she was. Her biggest secret was out, and she didn't have to hide anymore.

* * *

"Why does Professor Port always make his exams so hard?" Ruby complained the next morning as she and the rest of her teammates exited their classroom.

"Beats me," Yang shrugged. "Those essay questions were absolutely ridiculous. Like, I don't even remember learning about half that stuff."

"That's because you're asleep for most of the class," Weiss pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah. Lemme guess, you thought it was a breeze?"

The heiress shook her head, "Not at all. That was definitely one of the hardest exams I've ever taken. What'd you think, Blake?"

"I thought it was okay," the Faunus girl answered almost nonchalantly. "It could've been a lot worse if he'd made us go more into detail on the economic and social-"

"STOP BEING SO SMART!" Yang exclaimed with a wide smile. "You're making the rest of us look bad!"

Ruby started to giggle, "What's the matter, sis? Afraid your role as the smartest on the team is at stake?"

"Very funny," her sister replied. "At least I'm still the prettiest."

"Weeell, I think she's got you beat there, too." All three of Ruby's teammates gave her a quizzical look, and she very quickly turned a bright shade of red.

Yang chuckled and raised her eyebrows, "Come again? You think there's a person alive prettier than me? Don't make me laugh."

"Jealous?" Blake grinned, playing along and running her fingers through her hair. "I can't help it if I'm so drop-dead gorgeous."

"Oh knock it off," Ruby snickered. "You're both beautiful. Happy?"

"Ahem," Weiss cleared her throat as she folded her arms. "What about me?"

"Meh, you're okay. Not really my type, though."

"WHAT? That's not fair! Since when did personal preference come into this? I thought we were just being nice to each other after the exam!"

"Go on, then," Blake insisted with an evil smile directed at her team leader. "What is your type since you brought it up?"

Ruby gave an innocent shrug, "Shirtless blonde boys with monkey tails?"

"Back off, sister," Blake chuckled, easily reading her leader's sarcasm. "Seriously, though, what kind of guys are you into? It's been a while since we've had some girl-talk, and I could use it to help me relax after that exam."

Yang rolled her eyes, "I thought you said it wasn't that hard?"

"I said it could've been worse. So, Ruby, what's your type?"

' _You,_ ' the redhead though as she started to blush again, but didn't dare to say it out loud.

"I dunno," she shrugged. "I'm more into girls than guys, but I usually go for shy, cute guys. I'd consider asking Jaune out if he and Pyrrha weren't basically a thing. Are they official yet?"

"Nope," Weiss replied. "He's still clueless, and don't change the subject. What's your type of girl?"

"Hey, why am I the one getting grilled here? Why don't you answer first?"

Blake started to laugh, "Because you started it and you keep avoiding the question. Something you're trying to hide?"

"Of course not!" Ruby exclaimed, but the outburst didn't help her case at all. "Alright, alright, maybe there's a girl I really like. So what?"

"We never said it was a problem," Yang smiled. "But, since you decided to bring that up instead of just tell us what you're type is, we've gotta know who it is!"

"Remember, sis, I know who your big crush is. Want me to tell them?" Ruby smirked as her sister started to blush, and she knew that would be the last she'd ask about it.  
"You wouldn't dare!"

"Details, people!" Blake interjected, exchanging an intrigued look with Weiss and they arrived back in their dorm room. "Let's hear it! You know I like Sun, and Weiss is too cold to feel affection, so it's only fair that you tell us your crushes."

"HEY!" Weiss huffed. "Where did that come from? I haven't said one mean thing this entire time!"

"Relax, it was just a joke. You can share your crush too if you're admitting to having one."

The heiress stuck out her tongue, "Just because I don't have a crush at the moment doesn't mean I _can't_ have one."

"Whatever you say," Blake grinned. "Ruby, Yang, it's your turn. Weiss doesn't have a crush and you know mine is Sun. Who're yours?"

"I'd rather not say," Ruby mumbled. Her cheeks turned a bright crimson again, and she quickly dashed onto her bunk and hid under her pillow.

"Sis, get down here," Yang chuckled. "We won't make you tell if you really don't wanna."

"What about you, Yang?" Weiss asked.

"Oh, uh... I don't really have one either. Sorry."

"Bullshit," Blake smirked. "Not only are you a terrible liar, but you already admitted to having one in the hallway. Remember?"

"Fuck," Yang cursed under her breath. "I don't wanna say. It's embarrassing."

Weiss shook her head, "That's a cheap cop out, but whatever. I think I could use a soda. Anyone else want one?"

"I'll come," Blake smiled.

They walked out of the room and shut the door behind them, and barely a second passed before Yang leapt onto her sister's bunk with a huge smile. While the rest of her teammates hadn't picked up on it, she could read her sister all too well.

"YOU LIKE BLAKE?" the blonde practically screamed, clearly very excited. "That's so cute! Why don't you wanna tell her?"

"Because she likes Sun," Ruby grumbled. She sat up and pushed her sister off her and onto the floor, then jumped off her bunk and sighed. "I'm in love with a straight girl!"

"You don't know she's totally straight," Yang ventured, trying to be comforting.

"Yeah, right. Even if she is bi, have you seen the way she looks at Sun? I don't stand a chance."

"Not with that attitude."

Ruby shot her sister an annoyed look, "Shut up. It's not gonna work out and you know it."

Yang sighed, pausing to give her sister a moment to cool down and collect her thoughts. She sat down on the rug and patted the ground as an indication for Ruby to join her. "C'mere, let's have a sister-to-sister talk," she said with a warm smile.

Ruby looked down at her feet at first, but ultimately took a seat beside Yang. "Fine... What do you wanna talk about?"

"I just wanna get a feel for how things between you and Blake are. It's obvious that you really like her, but you don't wanna do anything about it because you're scared. There's nothing wrong with being scared about asking someone out, I just want you to know that. It's perfectly normal, especially if it's the first time you've done it."

"I guess..." Ruby mumbled, not sounding very confident. "But what if she says no? What if she gets all weirded out by it and doesn't wanna talk to me anymore?"

Yang continued to smile and pulled Ruby into a side-hug, "So what if she does say no? Rejection isn't the end of the world. You wouldn't rather have an answer than keep worrying about it?"

"Well... Maybe... I just don't wanna hear her say no..."

"I wish there was a way you didn't have to," Yang sighed. "Hearing a no hurts. I've been turned down plenty of times, and yeah, it's not fun. You've still gotta do it, though. There's no chance of a yes without the chance of a no. And I promise that even if she says no, she's still gonna talk to you. This is Blake we're talking about. She wouldn't let something like this ruin your friendship. That's not the type of person she is."

"That doesn't mean I'm not afraid of it..." Ruby replied, shaking her head. She didn't want to admit it, but Yang's advice was making her feel a lot better.

"Well, I'm here for you. Lemme know if you decide to ask her out, and I'll be waiting as either the shoulder to cry on if she says no, or hug you if she says yes."

Ruby giggled and gave a tiny smile, "Thanks, sis. I don't think I'm gonna ask her out, though. I just don't feel right about it."

"How so?" Yang asked, tilting her head to the side.

"It's hard to explain, but... I just don't feel right about it."

Yang thought for a moment, then smiled, "Well, I'm not gonna force you. Do whatever feels right. Just know that I'll be shipping you two from now until the day we graduate and beyond."

"I hate you," Ruby laughed, but still grinned as she and Yang came in for a tight hug. "I love you, sis. I'm really glad you're here with me."

"Love you too. I'll always be there for you, no matter what. Never doubt that."

' _I never have,_ ' Ruby smiled as she hugged a bit tighter. ' _I dunno, maybe I'll talk to Blake tonight and see what I can gather about her and Sun. I still feel weird about it, but I guess it can't hurt to scout ahead and see what happens._ '

"We're back," Weiss announced as she and Blake suddenly walked back through the door. "Um... Did we miss something? Why are you hugging in the middle of the floor?"

Yang grinned as she and Ruby separated, "Sister stuff, don't worry about it. Here, come sit with us! Let's keep the girl talk going. I think Ruby was just about to tell us her type."

Ruby's eyes grew wide as she started to blush, but she could see that Yang was about to let her get out of this. She sighed, "Oh fine... But you're next!"

"No more stalling," Blake chuckled as she and Weiss joined their teammates in a circle on the floor.

"Alright, alright. Let's see... Well, they need to have the energy to keep up with me. They've gotta be funny and smart and cute. Someone I can curl up and watch a movie with, who can be there when I need a shoulder to cry on, and who'd be up for whatever crazy shenanigans I'd wake them up at three in the morning to go on."

Weiss rolled her eyes, "Just saying, if you ever wake me up that early for any reason other than the room being on fire, I'll punch you."

"I guess it's a good thing I don't like you then," Ruby giggled. Her gaze drifted to Blake without thinking about it, and the two of them made eye contact for a few moments. She felt a sudden twinge of panic shoot through her as she realised what she was doing, and hoped that Blake wouldn't read into it.

Blake started to laugh, "Honestly, that doesn't sound horrible. I'd go along with Sun in a heartbeat if he did something like that."

' _I'm sure you would..._ ' Ruby thought as a dismal look came over her. ' _There really is no chance of us ever happening..._ '

"Ready for me to be stereotypical?" Weiss asked, blushing a little. "I really, _really_ like bad girls. Shocking, right? The spoiled princess wants just the opposite, but it's true. Tattoos, piercings, motorcycles, it just... It's such a turn on."

Yang's eyes lit up as she tugged on Weiss' sleeve, "We should TOTALLY go get tattoos together!"

Ruby did her best to suppress a laugh, and thankfully Weiss didn't notice. She could see how excited it made Yang to ear that not only was she exactly Weiss' type, but by the sound of it, she had a pretty good shot with her.

"You wish," Weiss said, rolling her eyes. "My father would murder me."

"That's not a no," Yang smirked. "Anyway, I guess it's my turn. My type... I don't know if I have a 'type' per se. I told Weiss the other day, but I need a real connection with the people I'm with. I haven't had it with enough people to really say what my type would be."

Ruby smiled, trying to hide that she was still hurting, "Whatever you say, sis."

' _At least Yang and Weiss have a chance,_ ' the redhead thought to herself. ' _I can't think of anyone at Beacon who fits Weiss' description than Yang. Maybe I can help get over Blake if I help set the two of them up..._ '

* * *

"You're sure about this?" Yang asked and she and Weiss turned a corner in Vale. "You can't undo it once it's done."

The heiress chuckled and nodded, "I'm very aware of that. And yes, I'm sure. I've been wanting to do this for years."

' _If you're sure..._ ' Yang hesitantly thought. She wasn't against it, but she was a little afraid of what the repercussions would be for her teammate.

"How's your dad gonna react?" the blonde asked.

"He'll be furious, but so what? It's my hair, and if I want it cut short, then I'm going to cut it short. There's nothing he can do about it."

Yang giggled, "I like that attitude. Not to keep pushing it, but wanna go get tattoos after this to be even more rebellious?"

"We're not eighteen," Weiss pointed out. "Not that I would if we were."

"Actually, you only have to be sixteen in Vale to get one without your parent signing off. Hypothetically then, what tattoo would you get if we could go now?"

"A snowflake on my shoulder," Weiss replied almost immediately. "Not the Schnee logo, though. I'd get the outline of a really beautiful snowflake, but have part of it be broken off and scattering away down my arm."

Yang's face lit up, "Oh my God, I LOVE IT! The first tattoo I'm gonna get is mine and Ruby's symbols mixed together on my wrist. She and I are gonna get them together as sister tattoos. Our dad doesn't wanna sign for her to do it though, so we've gotta wait until she turns sixteen. After that I wanna build up to getting sleeves on my arms. I think they'd look hella cool on me."

"You could definitely pull it off," Weiss agreed.

"I say we go for it," Yang continued with a mischievous grin. "I'll think of something else to get while you're getting your haircut, and then we can go to a tattoo shop. Sound good?"

Weiss rolled her eyes, "Yeahhh, not likely. Nice try, though."

"Oh c'mon, it'll be fun! I'll even pay for it."

"Oh?" Weiss asked, raising her eyebrows. "You can pay for both of us to get tattoos?"

"Hey, I'm not poor! I've got some money in my savings from my summer job, so yeah, I can pay. Does that mean you're in?"

The heiress paused for a moment, struck by how hard it was to resist it now that it was an option. "I... Well... You know what? Yes, I'm in. Let's get tattoos."

"YES!" Yang cheered, jumping from excitement. "Actually, I might just get a piercing instead. I promised Ruby we'd get our first tattoos together. Do you think I'd look better with a lip, septum, nostril, or eyebrow piercing?"

"That's a tough one..." Weiss replied, having to think quite hard about it. "Honestly, I think you'd look good with all of them. I can't decide."

Yang laughed, "Damn it, Weiss! I guess we'll figure it out when we get there. After your haircut, that is."

The girls arrived at the salon, and Weiss was brought back right away for her haircut. A girl about their age with long, blonde hair brought a chair for Yang to sit with them, and smiled as she started preparing her shears and scissors.

"Good afternoon, Miss Schnee," the girl beamed, clearly familiar with the Schnee family. "My name's Ashley; I'll be your stylist today. What were you looking to have done?"  
Weiss grinned, "Cut it off. I want it short and boyish."

"R-Really?" Ashley asked, confused. She looked over at Yang and got a reassured smile that Weiss knew what she wanted. "No problem. Would you like to donate the hair that's being cut off? It goes to make wigs for cancer treatment patients."

"Yes, please," Weiss happily replied, then settled into the chair.

Ashley started by essentially cutting a straight, horizontal line across Weiss' hair at about the height of her shoulders. The long strands were carefully bundled where they were cut using a hair tie, and placed in a marked container. From there, she went to work cutting and shaping what was left of the heiress' hair. She used electric shears to to bring the sides and back in close up as far as Weiss' ear. The rest of her head was cut by hand to about an inch in length, and finally spiked up with some hair gel. The end result was exactly she wanted; it was short, boyish, and perfect.

Ashley picked up a mirror after she finished and showed Weiss the cut from all angles. "So, what do you think?"

"I love it," Weiss replied, unable to contain her smile. It took Yang by surprise since she'd never seen her smile like this before. "Thank you so much."

"No problem! Let me just clean up the back of your neck and wipe off your shoulders and you'll be good to go!"

"You look awesome," Yang complimented, falling under the heiress' contagious smile.

Weiss blushed, "Thanks, Yang. I can't even tell you how good this feels. I actually feel like the person I'm seeing in the mirror right now."

Weiss paid for the haircut and gave a generous tip, mostly because of how excited she was with the end result, and the duo started off toward their next stop. The tattoo shop Yang suggested was only a few blocks away, not leaving much time to back out. Both girls were adamant about it, though, and they walked through the shop door with wide smiles from what they were about to do.

A woman with red hair and at least a dozen piercings and tattoos looked up from behind the counter as they entered, "Evening, girls. What can I help you with?"

"Hello," Weiss warmly replied. "I'm looking to get a tattoo, and my friend wants to get a piercing. Have you decided what you want, Yang?"

The blonde nodded, "Mhm! I wanna do my belly button and my lip."

"You should do spider bites," Weiss commented, having wanted to suggest it the whole time.

"Oooo I like it! Sold!"

The woman laughed and shook her head, "Naval and spiders bites are easy enough. Let me see... Sapphire has an opening soon, so I'll put you with her for your tattoo. Were you planning on choosing a design from one of our catalogs or do you have your own prepared?"

"I have my own," Weiss replied, pulling a folded piece of paper out of her purse. "I want this done on my shoulder."

Yang grinned, "You even had a copy of it handy? You've been planning this since I brought it up the other day, haven't you?"

Weiss gave an innocent shrug while everything was set up for them, and after waiting in the lobby for a few minutes, a tall man came to greet them and lead them further in. They arrived at a large, black, padded chair that was laid completely back.

"Hello, ladies. My name's Josh. So which one of you is getting the piercings?" he asked.

"Me!" Yang gleefully replied, raising her hand.

"Alrighty. Lay back on the chair here for me. I'll do your naval first, then your lip. Do you want the spider bites on the left or right side?"

"Right," Yang answered, laying back and smiling over at Weiss. The piercer got the needle and stud ready, and Yang shot her teammate a nervous look as she extended her arm out. "Hold my hand?"

Weiss smiled and rolled her eyes, but took Yang's hand as Josh got ready to get to work. Yang squeezed hard as the needle was brought close to her skin, and instinctively shut her eyes.

"Take a deep breath in for me," Josh instructed.

Yang did as she was told and drew a deep breath, which was followed by a brief, sharp pain. She opened her eyes and gave an almost confused look as she glanced up at Weiss. "Huh... That actually wasn't bad at all."

Josh chuckled, "Yeah, I hear that a lot. Okay, sit up for me and we'll do your lip. This one will hurt a little more, but you'll be fine."

Yang held Weiss' hand through the two rings being put through her lip, but most because she enjoyed it rather than actually needing the emotional support. She stood up and walked over to a mirror propped against the wall to see the results, and couldn't stop herself from smiling. She loved the way the belly button stud looked with her outfit, and the spider bites gave her an even more edgy look that she absolutely adored.

"I love it," she smiled. "Weiss? Whatcha think?"

The heiress grinned back at her teammate, "I won't lie, you look really hot."

Josh gave Yang a print-out of aftercare instructions, then led the girls to another part of the studio for Weiss to get her tattoo done. Josh made a copy of the snowflake design that he applied to the heiress' arm like a temporary tattoo as a guide and a preview, and after Weiss gave the okay, she was sat in a chair with Yang beside her, and a short woman with blue hair walked over to get started.

"Hi!" she greeted the girls, shaking their hands. "My name's Sapphire, and I'll be doing your tattoo today. Let's see... Okay, simple line art, easy enough. Let's get started, shall we?"

The process took about an hour, through which Weiss remained fairly calm and collected. She did a very good job of holding still and letting Sapphire do her work, but Yang could see that the heiress was fighting not to show that she was in pain. Nevertheless she stuck it out, not bothered by it enough to need any breaks.

"All done," Sapphire smiled as she wiped the excess ink from the area for the last time.

Weiss stood up and looked at her arm in the mirror, once again unable to contain her smile. The area was a little swollen and red, but that was to be expected. The tattoo was beautiful, and Weiss looked more than pleased with how it turned out.

"It's exactly the way I'd imagined it," she grinned. "Thank you so much!"

"No problem! They'll give you aftercare instructions at the register on your way out. Have a great rest of your day, girls!"

Yang nodded, "You too! So whatcha think, Weiss? Was this a fun way to spend the afternoon?"

"Very," Weiss happily replied as they walked to the front of the store to pay. "That hurt more than I thought it would, but the end result is definitely worth it."

They came up to the register and were each given their bills. Weiss' tattoo came to one hundred and twenty Lien, and Yang's three piercings came to a total of one hundred Lien. Yang reached for her wallet, but Weiss quickly handed the woman behind the counter her card before the blonde had a chance.

"Hey!" Yang exclaimed.

Weiss chuckled as she sighed for both bills, "Yes?"

"I said I was gonna pay!"

"Not a chance," Weiss replied. "Two hundred Lien is not something you have to spare. I do, so I'm paying."

Yang huffed, "Fine, but I owe you one. Thanks, Weiss."

The girls left the shop with goofy smiles on both of their faces, and couldn't help themselves from staring at each other on the walk back to the airships. Yang felt invigorated by her new piercings, and not only that, there was something even more attractive about Weiss now. The heiress' rebelliousness and encouragements with her piercings just made her all the more irresistible.

In the same vein of thought, Weiss couldn't keep her eyes off Yang because of just how attractive she found the girl's new piercings. It was something that she hadn't expected, but at the same surprised her a little that she hadn't noticed it before. Her cheeks gradually turned a brighter and brighter red as they walked along until she finally had to look away to hide it.

"So how should we act when we get back?" Yang asked once they were back on campus.

Weiss grinned, "I think we should make an entrance. We can't just act like nothing happened when we look this good."

"I couldn't agree more."

They walked up the stairs to their dorm floor, giggling the entire time, and had to stop a few doors down to collect themselves. They quietly crept up to their door and checked the handle to make sure it was unlocked, and got in position to burst through. Yang gave a silent countdown on her fingers, then threw up the door.

"We're back!" Yang exclaimed as she and Weiss jumped into the room. "Notice anything different?"

Ruby and Blake looked up at the same time, and both of their jaws dropped open when they saw their teammates. Ruby stared at her sister, "Holy crap, Yang!"

"That's one way to put it," Blake added, rubbing her eyes to make sure she was seeing everything correctly. "Okay, well, I'll start with Weiss' hair since it was what you went out to do in the first place. Weiss, it looks very nice."

"Thank you," the heiress smiled.

"Now, onto Yang... I think the belly button piercing is cute, but... uh... why your lip?"

Yang shrugged, "Why not? I think it looks hot, and so does Weiss. Whatcha think, Ruby?"

"I think they look fine," the leader chuckled. "I agree with Blake on your belly button, and I have nothing against the lip rings, but they'll take some time for me to get used to is all. Did Weiss get anything pierced with you?"

"Close," Weiss giggled, taking off her jacket to show her tattoo.

Ruby gasped in delight, "Daaaamn, that looks SICK! What made you wanna do it?"

"Well, Yang's been suggesting it for a while, and I decided to take her up on it. I've wanted to get it for a while."

"What's it mean?" Blake asked, getting an odd look from Weiss. "Your tattoo; what does it mean? Impulse or not, you don't strike me as someone who'd get a tattoo out of nowhere if it didn't mean something to you. So what does it mean?"

Weiss smiled and looked at her shoulder, "The snowflake is like me. It's beautiful and unique, but fragile. It's been broken, and that part of it can never be healed or put back together again. But, that's okay. When you see this snowflake, you see that the rest of it is still there. It's still beautiful, and now it's even more unique because of what it's been through. I might not be able to change my past or ever fully heal from the ways I've been broken, but I'm not going to let the rest of me break apart and scatter away. I'm still here, and I'm going to keep fighting because being damaged isn't going to be the end of me."

 **Nothing wrong with being a little impulsive. XD I got my belly button pierced this past week on an impulse, so I thought it'd be fun to have Weiss and Yang do the same. Weiss really needed it, and her tattoo is one I'm actually planning on getting. :p Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Be sure to review and follow, and I'll see you next time when Ruby and Blake get the spotlight!**


	4. Highs and Lows

**Hi everyone! Sorry that it's been so long. To be honest, there were a few points over the last couple months that I didn't think I'd have the will to keep going. But, I'm still here, and I'm actually feeling really good. I got an emotional support cat and he's been helping immensely, and now that winter break is starting, I'm hoping I'll be able to get some writing done.**

Chapter 4: Highs and Lows

Having a lull in the semester was wonderful for some, but almost painful for others. Weiss and Yang were getting along very well now, and had plenty of time to hang out as class loads were lightening from the school dance's fast approach. Ruby was finally making friends and coming out of her shell, but Blake wasn't having as great a time. The White Fang's involvement with Roman was eating away at her, demanding answers that she didn't have and desperately needed. Her talk with Yang that afternoon had helped a little, but it still wasn't enough.

It was fairly late, and Weiss and Yang were already asleep. Blake, however, was wide awake in her bed. She was frantically writing in her journal, trying to make connections between every report she could find in the news. Her obsession was growing, and starting to boil over.

' _There has to be a pattern I'm missing,_ ' she told herself over and over. ' _Something I'm missing... Something that'll make all of this finally make sense..._ '

"Blake?" Ruby asked from her bunk, looking across the room at her distracted teammate. Even though the room was dark, she could hear the sound of a pencil on paper. "Blake, go to sleep. It's almost midnight and we have the dance tomorrow. You'll need your rest if you're gonna come."

"R-Right..." Blake shyly replied, hiding her notebook under her pillow.

She listened intently as Ruby settled back into her bed, and waited for the rhythmic sound of the girl's breathing to slow and signal that she'd fallen asleep. Once she heard it, she stealthily slipped out of bed and got dressed, packing her backpack and holstering Gambol Shroud. She sighed and opened her notebook again, starting to write a note.

' _I'm sorry to leave like this, but someone has to figure all this out,_ ' she began. ' _I'd ask you to come, but I don't want to put you in danger. I hope you'll understand. I'll be back once I have what I'm looking for. Blake._ '

She quietly ripped out the page and set it on the dresser before walking to the door. She slowly opened it just enough to squeeze through and looked back at her sleeping teammates before heading out.

' _Where to begin..._ ' she asked herself as she exited the dorms and started down the path to the airships. ' _I need to track down Roman. My best bet is finding a White Fang recruiter and seeing what all I can attend. With any luck, I'll find him soon again._ '

She took the campus shuttle into town and started looking at flights around the kingdom, but the ticket prices were far too much for her. She looked through her notes and found that there was a lot of White Fang activity in a large town to the northwest, and that were was a train she could take there. After looking at how much tickets would cost and finding it was well within her budget, she started walking toward the train station.

' _Okay, the station is on the other side of the city, but I could use a long walk right now. I can wait there until the train comes, and it'll be a six hour trip that I can sleep through until-_ '

"Going somewhere?" Ruby suddenly asked from behind, making Blake jump and spin around. "The answer had better be that you were sleepwalking."

The leader's dry, angry tone was something that Blake hadn't heard from her before, and it was somewhat terrifying. She was tempted to ask how she'd caught up to her so fast, but with the girl's semblance and the fact that she'd probably been following her since she left, it seemed moot to ask.

Blake shook her head, "You don't understand, I-"

"Don't even," Ruby flatly interrupted, narrowing her eyes. It was clear that she'd been expecting something like this to happen. "What happened to being a team? What happened to that promise you made about coming to us? I thought Yang got through to you earlier... You're really just gonna run off in the middle of the night?"

"I tried coming to you," Blake sighed. "I've been asking you to help, but you've refused. Someone has to do this."

Ruby narrowed her eyes, "That's not true and you know it. We will do something. You know we will."

"And what if it's already too late by then? This isn't something that can wait. You can't stop me, Ruby. This is just something I have to do."

Her words hung in the air as a stillness fell over them. Part of her felt bad for how blunt and stubborn she was being, but her mind had been made up for a long time now. The only question now was whether or not Ruby would try to stop her. Their eyes were locked, both girls tensing up. Blake only hoped it wouldn't lead to a fight.

"You're right; I can't," Ruby sighed. "I can't stop you. If you really wanna go, then go. All I ask is that you let my try to talk you out of it. I'll walk you to the train station, and if I can't convince you to stay by the time you buy your ticket, then I'll head back and let you go off. Deal?"

"How'd you know that's where I was headed?" Blake asked, giving her leader a suspicious look.

Ruby rolled her eyes, "I'm not as dumb as I look. If you're not taking an airship then that's the only safe and reasonable way to travel. So do we have a deal or not?"

Blake held her ground, not sure what the best course of action was. "And if I say no?"

"Don't test me, Blake," Ruby replied, her anger and frustration showing in her voice. "Let's walk."

Ruby walked up beside her teammate and began to lead the way to the station. They were both quiet at first, and Blake started to feel a bit anxious. She could see how angry her leader was, and didn't know what to expect from this walk.

"It's a beautiful night out," Ruby commented. "Nice and warm, gentle breeze, the moon big and bright in the sky... Ever wonder about being a werewolf?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Blake asked with a chuckle.

"The moon made me think of it. Like, I bet it'd be pretty cool."

"What is with you and fairytales?" Blake laughed. "First vampires, now werewolves?"

"I like fairytales," Ruby smiled.

"Clearly. I doubt being a werewolf would be fun."

"It's gotta be better than being a vampire," Ruby replied, still looking at the moon. "I think so, at least."

Blake chuckled, "If you say so."

They continued to walk along with Ruby bringing up one random topic after another. Blake couldn't tell if that was part of her plan or just to kill time, but she enjoyed it either way. She and Ruby didn't hang out much outside of the classroom.

' _I'm gonna miss her,_ ' Blake thought as she looked at the train station in the distance. ' _All of them, actually. Well fuck, she's not changing my mind, but she is making me sad about going._ '

"Biggest fear?" Ruby asked out of the blue, not giving any other context.

"My biggest fear?" Blake repeated, confused, and received a nod. "Um... Being helpless, I guess. Why?"

"Mine is losing the people I care about the most," Ruby answered. "Yang told you about my mom, right?"

Blake gave a hesitant nod, knowing where this way going, "She did. You don't have to do this, though. I know you're gonna say. You'll talk about how hard it is to lose someone and that you don't want to lose me too."

"When did you become so cynical?" Ruby giggled. "That's actually not it. Not exactly, at least. Sure, I have childhood problems, but we all do. I'm afraid of loss, Yang has abandonment issues, Weiss is all different kinds of messed up thanks to her dad, and I'm sure you've got your own problems. I'm bringing up my mom to talk about losing family, cuz I really do see you as family, Blake. We all do. Imagine how Yang will feel when she wakes up tomorrow and reads that note."

"You guys are like family to me too, but..."

Ruby smiled, "You don't have to finish that thought; I know exactly how you feel. You feel like this is your duty after being in the White Fang, am I right?"

"Sort of..." Blake mumbled, surprised at how good her leader was at reading her.

"I'm the same way," Ruby continued. "After my mom died, I knew I had a duty to protect people. To make sure the Grimm, the White Fang, or whoever else can't tear apart more families. And you know what? The White Fang is tearing apart the RWBY family right now, and I'm not gonna let that happen. We'll get to the bottom of this, Blake. I promise. And do you know what else? We're gonna do it as a family."

They arrived at the entrance to the train station as Ruby finished speaking, and Blake paused to let Ruby's words sink in. "I..." she began, but couldn't form her thoughts into words.

Ruby gave a comforting smile, "Well, we're here. I'm a girl of my word, and if you still wanna go, I won't stop you. I just hope that you'll keep what I said in mind if you do."

She turned and started walking back to the docks, and Blake let out a long sigh. The Faunus girl turned to the ticket window and stared for a moment, but she knew she wasn't going anywhere.

' _I'm glad I have someone to be my voice of reason,_ ' she thought, and ran to catch up.

"Hey, wait," she called out, running up beside Ruby. "I guess I shouldn't let you walk home by yourself. I'd be a horrible teammate if I did. Oh, and... thanks."

Ruby gave a soft smile and a nod, "Any time."

* * *

The next day was a blur of students rushing to complete their classes and homework so they could prepare for the dance. Weiss was especially anxious, but not for the same reason as her classmates.

' _Well, it's here,_ ' she thought with a dismal sigh. ' _Why does my father even care that I go? And why is it so important I have a date? Do I seriously need to keep my 'image' up during freshman prom?_ '

She grumbled to herself the entire time she walked from her last class back to the dorms. She was most annoyed by the fact that she'd have to spend the entire evening in a dress, and more so that she couldn't take someone she'd want as a date. She didn't have any specifics girls in mind for the job, but knowing she could if she wanted to would've been nice. She gave a heavy sigh as she walked into her room and collapsed, face forward, onto her pillow.

"Rough day?" Ruby asked from Blake's bed. The two of them had been almost inseparable that day, and they were currently finishing up homework for their mythology class.

"It will be," the heiress sighed, rolling over and hiding under her sheets. "I don't want to go to the dance."

"Then don't," Blake chuckled. "Nobody can force you if you don't want to."

Weiss shook her head, "You've clearly never met my father. What's worse is that he expects me to have a date. A boy date."

"Just take someone as a friend. It's not like you have to kiss whoever you take."

"Or even dance with them," Ruby added. "Ask Neptune or whoever to take a picture together and then you're all set! Dance and flirt with as many girls as you want!"

"I still have to wear a dress," Weiss grumbled.

Blake gave her a confused look, "Is it really that big a deal? It's just for one night."

"It's kinda hard to explain," the heiress sighed. "Actually, I guess it's not. I'm feeling really masculine today, and getting a guy to wear a dress to a prom would be pretty hard to do."

"Maybe for some of them," Ruby snickered. "I bet there are some guys we could convince. But I get what what you mean. Maybe you could wear a dress for pictures and then change?"

Weiss shook her head, "Honestly, I'd rather not go than put that much effort into lying about it. Besides, then I'd have to watch to make sure I'm not in any other pictures that'll appear online."

"Pretend you're sick? Stay home and have a night off?"

"That's the thing, though. I do want to go, but I want to wear a tux and I want to take a girl."

Blake thought for a moment, "Maybe compromise with a pantsuit? Girly enough for your dad, masculine enough for you. I can't offer much advice for your date, though."

"That's not a bad idea, actually," Weiss smiled. "Want to come into town with me so I can rent one? I'll take you guys for ice cream or something afterward."

"I'm in," Ruby immediately replied. The promise of sweets was always enough to get her on board.

"We have homework to finish," Blake said, looking at Ruby. "Well, I guess it can wait. Let's go."

Ruby sent Yang a text to let her know they were going out, and the three of them headed into town. It wasn't particularly hard for Weiss to find a pantsuit since they weren't the most popular item of clothing. Getting ice cream ended up taking longer than the rental, and it was only about an hour before they were back.

"Okay, that makes me feel much better," Weiss smiled as she hung up the outfit in the closet. "That just leaves having a guy to take pictures with."

"My vote is Neptune," Ruby ventured. "I don't think he has a date yet, and you guys will probably end up hanging out at the dance so there's that going for you if anyone else takes pictures."

"Not a bad idea," Weiss nodded, thinking it over. She was still sad that should couldn't a take a girl like she wanted to, but at the same time there wasn't any girl in particular she wanted to ask. "Yeah, that works. Pictures with Neptune, flirt with whoever looks like they were stood up. Maybe I'll end up having fun after all."

Blake smirked and raised her eyebrows, "Look at you being the player of the team."

The heiress gave an innocent smile as she walked to the door, "What can I say? It's the quiet ones you have to watch out for."

She headed out and down the hall to team SSSN's room to talk to Neptune, but he wasn't home. Sun told her he was with Sage in the library and that that was her best bet for finding him. She made her way outside and got about halfway to the library before she spied her target walking the opposite direction on another part of the sidewalk, and quickly turned to run after him.

"Neptune!" Weiss called up, catching up to the boy as he stopped and turned around. "Hey, uh... I was wondering if you wanted to go to the dance with me...?"

Neptune stopped and gave her a very confused look, "You wanna go with me? I thought you were a lesbian."

"I am. I meant go as friends. My father doesn't know I'm gay, and since I have to wear a stupid dress to the dance anyway, I figured I might as well take a boy just to get him off my back about never having a date to anything."

"I'll pass," Neptune callously replied, and started to walk off without another word.

"I- Wait, what?" Weiss asked in surprise. "You could flirt with anyone you want at the dance, we don't even have to pretend to be a couple! Just take some pictures and tell-"

"I said no," Neptune interrupted, looking back. "I like you, Weiss. I like you a lot, and not just as a friend. If we went together... I'd want it to actually be together."

"O-Oh... Alright..."

Neptune nodded and walked off, and Weiss was left standing on her own on the courtyard. She let out a long sigh and sat down with her back against one of the nearby support pillars. Somehow she hadn't expected him to say no, and it felt so strange to be shot down when it wasn't actually meant to mean anything. She shook her head and got back to her feet after a while and started back to the dorms with her head hung and her shoulders drooping.

' _Well, there goes that plan,'_ she dejectedly thought. ' _And I still have to go to the fucking dance. You know what? Maybe I just won't go. I'll take Ruby's advice and pretend to be sick or something. That'd-_ '

"Weiss?" a voice asked from behind her, and she snapped out of her thoughts to see Jaune walking down the path toward her. "What's wrong?"

The heiress shook her head, "It's nothing. The stupid dance is stressing me out and I think I just might not go. I'll get hell from my father whether I don't go or go alone, so I guess I'll just stay home."

"I thought you were going with Neptune? You guys seem so... flirty."

"He said no," Weiss sighed. "He said he'd want it to be a real date and not just be as friends, so that's not happening."

Jaune cocked his head to the side, very confused, "Huh? Am I missing something here? Why wouldn't you wanna go as a date if he likes you and you like him?"

"You know I'm gay, right?" Weiss laughed, but then realised she'd never actually told him. "Oh, maybe you don't. I'm one hundred percent a lesbian. Neptune's cool and all, but I don't like him in that way. I just needed a guy as a date to make my father shut up about it."

"Well now you tell me!" Jaune laughed, sitting down next to her. "If you'd told me you were gay a month ago I would've stopped trying."

"Yeah, sorry. I really should've. It would've saved you and Pyrrha a lot of heartache."

"Pyrrha?" Jaune asked, looking confused.

"Wow, you really are that dense," Weiss smirked. "Story time."

* * *

Blake and Ruby got back to doing their homework once Weiss left, and it only took them another twenty minutes to finish it. With that out of the way, they were free for the next hour until it was time to get ready for the dance. Naturally, they decided to use that time to read and nap, respectively. Ruby yawned and stretched when she woke up a little while later, and saw that Blake was already getting started with her makeup.

"A little early, don't you think?" the leader asked. "I dunno about you, but I have a curse with smudging my eyeliner when I get it done early."

Blake gave an amused chuckle, "I have no such curse, so I'll take my chances. I can do yours now if you think that'll break your curse."

"Nah, I'll need an exorcism or something for that," Ruby laughed, hopping down from her bunk and touching her toes to stretch even more.  
"You're so weird," Blake grinned, moving from her foundation to her contouring. "I forget, are you going with anyone? I figured I would've heard Yang grumbling about it if you were. Where is she, anyway?"

"She's finishing setting up," Ruby replied. "And no, I don't have a date. I wish I did, though."

"What's the matter? Everyone here too old for you?" Blake teased.

Ruby giggled, starting to blush, "Something like that... Hey, I uh... I don't suppose you'd wanna go to the dance with me?"

"Aww, that's sweet," Blake smiled, thinking that Ruby meant for them to go as friends. "I know Sun wants to take me, though. If not, then we can definitely hang out."

"N-No, I meant... I meant, like... you and me. We'd be going together. N-Not just as friends."

Blake turned and gave her a puzzled look for a moment, then realised what was happening. "As a date...?" she asked.

Ruby's cheeks were a bright red as she nodded, "Yeah... As a date. I like you, Blake. A lot. I didn't know if you're straight or taken or whatever else, but I just... I had to ask."

"I... Huh..." Blake said in wonder, putting a few puzzle pieces together in her head. "Is that why you always wanna study together? And why you took mythology with me?"

"Bingo," Ruby giggled. "I'm sorry, I should've been more upfront about it. I was just so nervous and-"

Blake chuckled and pulled her teammate in a hug before she could finish, "Relax. It was very brave of you to ask me, and also really sweet. I really hate to say no, but I'm straight."

"Damn," Ruby pouted as they separated. She was disappointed, but it was the answer she had expected. "Not even a little bi-curious?"

Blake laughed, "Nope. I kissed a girl that liked me back when I was in the White Fang. It didn't do anything for me, and it just felt too weird. But, if that ever changes, I'll make sure you're the first to know."

"I'll take it," Ruby giggled, then blushed as she looked down at her boots. "So... this doesn't change anything between us, right? You're not weirded out or anything?"

"I'm straight, not an asshole," Blake smiled. "Of course this doesn't change anything. I don't think I'll be letting you wash my back anytime soon, but it's not like we won't share a shower and a locker room. I know you'll respect my boundaries."

Ruby nodded, "Always. I'd never do anything or make any advances you're uncomfortable with."

"Then yes, nothing changes," Blake replied and gave her leader another hug before returning to her makeup. "Are you sure you don't want me to do your makeup? It'll give you an excuse to stare at me while I do."

Ruby pouted, "Please tell me you're not gonna be the straight girl that enjoys teasing the gay girl."

"You know it! So am I doing your makeup or not?"

"Yes..." Ruby blushed.

She and Blake finished getting ready and left before Weiss got back. Blake went off to find Sun while Ruby decided to help Yang with the final preparations for the dance. She was a little down after getting rejected, but at the same time she knew that was going to be the outcome. With that off her chest, she decided that going with Weiss' idea of seeing who she could find at the dance.

The dance finally started, and Ruby found herself gravitating to her friends rather than mingling. Part of it was jealous from seeing Blake with Sun, and another part was seeing Weiss so down.

' _I feel so bad,_ ' she thought, looking at Weiss from across the room. The heiress was sitting by herself, not looking very thrilled. ' _I might not have gotten the date I wanted, but at least I had the opportunity. All she wants is to be herself... There's gotta be a way I can cheer her up._ '

She smiled as she walked over to her partner and took the seat next to her, "Hey, Weiss. Having fun?"

"Having the time of my life," the heiress sarcastically replied. "What about you?"

Ruby shrugged, "I'd be happier if Blake hadn't turned me down, but you can't win 'em all."

"You asked Blake?" Weiss gasped in surprise.

"Oh, right, you don't know about that. I've been crushing on her for a while, but she's straight; the kind of straight where she's comfortable enough to flirt back at me."

"My condolences," Weiss laughed. "I'm sure that's going to be so much fun for you."

The leader rolled her eyes, "Yup, so much fun. Totally won't be tearing my hair out."

"Oh you'll live. At least you got to ask someone you wanted. I'm just stuck here waiting for the dance to be over."

"We can just go back to the room if you want," Ruby suggested. "I'm not exactly having fun, and you don't look like you are either."

"Go back and do what?" Weiss asked, not seeing much of a difference.

"Chill, talk, that kinda stuff? Sit around in our PJ's without all this noise, have a nice, quiet evening in. Whatdya say?"

Weiss smiled, "That sounds lovely, actually."

They found Blake and Yang and let them know they were leaving, and gave a sigh of relief as they took off their heels and ran back to the dorms. They changed into their pajamas in a flash and hopped into Ruby's bed, happy to be away from the dance. Ruby didn't want to think about her rejection, and Weiss was ecstatic to be out of her pant suit and back into comfortable clothes.

"So what should we do now?" Weiss asked, laying back on one of her leader's pillows.

"I'm up for whatever," Ruby giggled. "Talk, watch a movie, play video games... I've got some stuff in my sock drawer if you wanna have some _real_ fun."

Weiss raised her eyebrows, "Huh? Are you saying you've got alcohol stashed in your drawer? You know you could get in serious trouble for that, right?"

"Nevermind, forget I said anything. Wanna just chat? How's life?"

"Life is fine," the heiress chuckled. "How about you? I know you've been pretty down because of Blake."

Ruby sighed, "Yeah, I'm fine. I knew she was straight, so I should've been ready for her to turn me down."

"I know how you feel. Having a crush on a straight girl is the worst. I've had more than my fair share of heartbreaks that way."

"We need more gay girls at Beacon," Ruby giggled, snuggling into her pillow.

"What? I'm not good enough?" Weiss smirked, feeling a little sassy.

"Yeahhh, no offense, but you're not really my type."

"Guess I'm not getting laid tonight after all," Weiss shrugged, then started to laugh once she saw the shock on Ruby's face. "Kidding, kidding! You're not my type either."

Ruby smiled, "Yeah, although your type does run in my family."

"What?"

"Oh c'mon, stop playing dumb! Yang is TOTALLY your type! I saw the way you were looking at her when you two got back from your haircut."

Ruby was very careful with her choice of words so that she didn't give away Yang's crush on Weiss. She wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to find out her partner's feelings, though.

Weiss looked fairly surprised by her leader's response. "Wh-What? You think I...? No, no, you've got it all wrong. I mean, sure, she's cool, and pretty, and punk, and... has a motorcycle... and spider bites... a-and uh... U-Umm..."

"OH MY GOD!" Ruby exclaimed. "You DO like her!"

"No, no! I don't! I... I don't think I do..."

Ruby giggled, "Oh stop it! You literally just listed everything that makes someone your type."

"Well... yeah, but..." the heiress trailed off, realising that Ruby was right. "I... Huh... I guess I do like her."

"YEEEES!" Ruby cheered, bouncing up and down. "You two would be so cute together! We should go back to the dance RIGHT NOW so you can-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down. First of all, me making a scene at the dance by pulling Yang into a dip-kiss is not the way I want to come out to my father. And yes, there would absolutely be a scene made if I have to go back to the dance. Second, I only just realised that I like her. I could use a day to process that and make sure. And third, there is no force on Remnant that will get me dressed up agasin now that I'm comfortable in my nightgown."

"Then let's go like this," Ruby smiled, offering her hand to Weiss so she could pull her along.

"Not happening," Weiss laughed. "I'm comfy in bed, and the only time I'm getting up again is to move from your bed to mine once I'm tired enough to fall asleep. Until then, all the fun is happening right here."

Ruby smirked, "Alright, let's have some real fun." She jumped down and started to rummage to the back of her sock drawer while Weiss watched from the bed.

"Alcohol? Really?" Weiss asked. "I don't know if-"

"It's not booze," Ruby replied, pulling out something wrapped in tinfoil. She opened the wrapping to reveal a stack of delicious-looking brownies.

Weiss rolled her eyes, "You keep sweets in your sock drawer? Somehow this doesn't surprise me at all."

"They're not just brownies," Ruby said with a smug smile before climbing back on her bunk. "They're edibles. I made 'em this morning, but wanted to keep them hidden so you guys wouldn't eat a bunch by mistake. Wanna try one?"

"Edibles? As in marijuana? I... Wow... I really didn't expect this from you."

Ruby shrugged, "It's not like I do it on a regular basis. Yang made me promise to stop smoking because she hates the smell, but she's fine with edibles as long as it's not a regular thing and I bake them somewhere she can't smell it."

"Okay..." Weiss slowly replied, her head telling her to both try it and not at the same time.

"You'll like it, I promise. And hey, maybe it'll loosen you up enough to go ask Yang out."

"Oh shut up," the heiress laughed. She was a lot more okay with this than she expected herself to be, and decided it couldn't hurt to at least try it. "Alright, I'll give them a try."

Ruby's eyes lit up, "Cool! I didn't have much to make them with, so they're pretty weak. You should start with one, but I wouldn't have more than three."

Weiss nodded and accepted one of the brownies as Ruby handed it to her, looking at it for a moment before taking a tiny bite. To her surprise, it didn't taste any different than a normal brownie, and she happily munched on hers while Ruby ate her own.

"Thoughts?" the redhead asked, smiling at her partner.

"You're a wonderful baker, that's for sure. How long until I'll feel it?"

"Couple minutes?" Ruby shrugged in response. "You'll know it hit you when you can't stop giggling and you wanna eat everything in sight."

The heiress groaned, "Oh great. So we'll have to make a munchies run at ten at night on a college campus during prom? Sure, there's no way anybody would be suspicious."

"Lighten up, princess," Ruby snickered. "It's not my first time doing this, and we'll be fine since we won't stink of smoke."

Weiss rolled her eyes, but she didn't feel like arguing. The girls finished their first piece and both started on another, and it was about halfway through it that Weiss felt it hit. She felt a little dizzy at first, everything around her seeming to get hazy and spin. Once that subsided, she looked at Ruby and couldn't stop herself from smiling and giggling.

"This is... weird," she said, looking around the room. "I kinda like it, though. I feel all bubbly."

Ruby snickered and booped her partner on the nose, "We should keep you high all the time then."

Weiss stuck out her tongue and continued to munch on her treat. Before long the evening started to blur into a haze of chatting and laughing. They ended up making a munchies run and falling asleep together in Ruby's bed with food and their fancy clothes strewn across the room. All in all, it was a much better time than the dance.

 **Sorry, no secrets this chapter. Gotta leave you wanting more, right? Then again, I've dropped enough hints since chapter one that you should be able to figure it out.**

 **Also, I'm gonna get in the habit of leaving little teasers at the end here of the next chapter. Enjoy!**

"Wait..." Weiss trailed off, looking utterly confused. "Did we...?"

Ruby vigorously shook her head, "No way! There's no way... right? I mean... I don't remember doing anything, but pot doesn't make you black out like that... It had to have been laced with something else..."

"Wonderful," Weiss groaned. "I don't remember anything. For the love of all things good, please tell me we didn't have sex..."


	5. It Was All Going So Well

Chapter 5: It Was All Going So Well

Ruby stirred awake the next morning and found herself as the little spoon with Weiss. The covers were pulled up to their necks, and the heiress' arms were wrapped around her waist. The next thing she realised was that she didn't know how she'd gotten like this, and had no memory of the previous night.

"Well good morning," Yang's voice came from across the room, and Ruby turned a bright red as she saw her sister and Blake giggling, "I take it you two had fun last night?"

"Shut up," Ruby grumbled, and nestled back into her pillow.

Weiss stretched and yawned behind her, "Hmm? What-?" She cut herself off when she noticed the position she was in, and slowly sunk under the covers.

"Morning, princess," Blake grinned. "Yang and I are gonna go get breakfast. Do you two wanna come, or did you already eat?"

"That's gross," Ruby whined, making a face. "We just fell asleep."

Yang rolled her eyes, "Come join us when you're ready, love birds. See ya!"

"Really?" Weiss said with an exasperated sigh as her teammates departed and closed the door. "Why does she have to do that?"

"Cuz she likes to tease people," Ruby chuckled, stretching and hopping down from her bunk.

Weiss' eyes shot open when she saw that Ruby was naked, and Ruby had the same reaction when she turned back to her partner and saw that she was naked as well. They exchanged a glance before looking down at themselves again, then looked back to each other. Weiss slowly got down from the bed as well and started scratching her head.

"Wait..." the heiress trailed off, looking utterly confused. "Did we...?"

Ruby vigorously shook her head, "No way! There's no way... right? I mean... I don't remember doing anything, but pot doesn't make you black out like that... It had to have been laced with something else..."

"Wonderful," Weiss groaned. "I don't remember anything. For the love of all things good, please tell me we didn't have sex..."

"No way. There's no way, right?" Ruby began, but suddenly gasped and covered her mouth. "W-Weiss... Go look in the mirror."

The heiress gave her a mortified look, afraid of what she was going to see, and walked over to the body mirror. She cursed under her breath when she saw them; dark hickeys covering her neck, collarbone, and on her breasts as well. Looking at her back, she saw the remnants of claw marks.

"Son of a bitch..." she sighed. "Ruby, please tell me I'm not your first..."

The leader shook her head, "No, you're not. Well crap! I wish I could remember it!"

"WHY?" Weiss asked, violently embarrassed. She found her nightgown on the floor and quickly covered herself, and motioned for Ruby to do the same.

"Well if it happened then I'd at least like to know what we did! Who kissed who first? Did you eat me out? Did I get my strap-on? I wanna know!"

"You have a strap-on?" Weiss asked in surprise as Ruby put her pajamas back on. "Anything else I should know about you?"

The leader shrugged, "Well I'm a- nevermind, not important right now. Do I have any marks on me?"

"I don't see any, and I normally don't leave marks. Okay, okay, so we had sex... No big deal, right...?"

"There are worse things we could've done," Ruby replied, happy to see that Weiss wasn't completely freaking out. "Keep it between us? Unless there's a reason to tell."

Weiss nodded, "Agreed. Should we try to piece the night together? Maybe we'll start remembering things."

"Good idea. Okay, so we ate the brownies, we went out and got snacks... Then what?"

Weiss paused, racking her brain for the forgotten information. "We... played cards?" she said, although it was more a question than a statement.

"That's right!" Ruby nodded. "We played Go Fish. And then- OH! It was strip Go Fish! That's how we got naked!"

The heiress groaned as it came back to her, "And it was my idea, too... So I won the game and you were naked."

"You were just in your panties, I think. That's when we went to bed cuz we were tired and..." Ruby trailed off, turning bright red. "I kissed you..."

"I KNEW IT!" Weiss exclaimed. "I KNEW you would've initiated it! I guess that's what happens when you're a pothead."

"I'm not a pothead!" Ruby pouted. "This is the first time I've been high since we got here!"

Weiss sighed, "Sorry, sorry. I'm just... yeah. I didn't mean to snap at you."

"You're fine," Ruby replied with a warm smile. "Alright, we really need to get to breakfast. They're gonna get suspicious if we take too much longer. Oh, and just to reiterate, this stays between us, right?"

"Right," Weiss nodded.

"Right," Yang suddenly added from the doorway, wearing an evil grin as Blake poked her head into view as well.

* * *

"So how was it?" Yang smirked, happily munching away on her breakfast while Ruby and Weiss sank into their chairs.

"Neither of us remember," Ruby groaned, pulling her hood over her face. "Please don't lecture me about that..."

"About what? Buying sketchy weed? Trust me, we'll have a talk about it, but that's for later. I've got other questions to ask."

Weiss shook her head, "Can you just let it go? We were both feeling lonely and depressed and got high enough to have sex. I promise there isn't anything more to it than than that."

"I believe you," Blake smiled. "But, that doesn't mean we won't tease you for a little while. Even you have to admit that this is funny."

"What's funny?" Nora asked as she and the rest of team JNPR arrived and sat down with their friends.

"NOTHING!" Weiss exclaimed. "Nothing is funny. Nothing at all."

Yang smirked, "Except you fucking my sister while stoned out of your mind. I thought that was pretty funny."

Pyrrha's eyes popped open as a wry grin spread across her lips, "Oh my, that does sound very funny."

"Can I be excused?" Ruby blushed, still hiding in her hood and earning a laugh from everyone. "Seriously, can we please drop it? We're both embarrassed enough that it happened at all."

"Fine, fine," Yang pouted. "But you and I are still gonna have a talk later."

"Thank you," Weiss smiled, starting to pick at her food. "So how much abuse am I going to get for this?"

"Meh, probably not a lot. I know there weren't any ill intentions, so I can't exactly be mad."

' _Thank God,_ ' Weiss thought with a sigh of relief. Among her worries in the fallout of this was whether or not Yang would be overprotective and crazy, and having that fear put to rest helped take some of the anxiety off.

"So did anyone else get laid last night?" Blake asked, looking around the table. "Or, ya know, do anything interesting that we can use to change the subject? I don't think Ruby can get any redder."

The caped girl continued to sink down into her seat as Jaune and Pyrrha raised their hands. "We did," Pyrrha giggled, leaning against Jaune.

"Took you long enough!" Yang laughed. "So are you guys a thing now?"

"Nope," Jaune smiled, shaking his head. "I uh... Well..."

"He's gay," Pyrrha pouted, turning all heads to Jaune.

Weiss looked utterly befuddled, "I'm sorry, what? I call bullshit. Why have you been going after me all semester then? And why didn't you come out to me when I came out to you?"

"It's a long story," Jaune shrugged. "When you have seven older sisters and you're finally the first boy, there's a lot of pressure on you to be the manly man. I dunno, I guess I was trying to convince myself that I was bi and would be happy with a girl."

"Would've been nice to know beforehand," Pyrrha grumbled, and Blake reached over to pat her on the shoulder. "Still, I ended up in bed with my crush, so I'm happy."

"How was it?" Nora asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Wonderful," the gladiator beamed.

"Soft," Jaune replied, making everyone laugh. "What? Don't get me wrong, I had fun, but girls just aren't my thing. Sorry you were the one to make me realise that, Pyrrha."

"No worries, hun. Nothing to be sorry about. BUT, that does mean I get to help set you up with people!"

"Oooo, yes!" Yang exclaimed. "Operation 'Get Jaune a Boyfriend' is a go! Who've you got your eye on, bud?"

"Nobody," Jaune blushed, not convincing anyone.

Ruby grinned, finally rejoining the conversation, "Uh huh, suuure! C'mon, who is it? What's his name start with?"

He groaned, "Do we really have to do this right now?"

"YES!" the girls all said in unison, making Ren chuckle.

"Hm?" Weiss asked, looking at the black-haired boy. "What's so funny?"

"All of you," he replied. "Mostly that you don't already know. I think it's quite obvious, but that's just me."

Nora lightly punched her partner in the shoulder, or rather, lightly when it came to her punches, "TELL ME! WHO IS IT?"

Jaune smirked, "Gee, I wonder why it's so obvious to you, Ren. What tipped you off? Was it the twenty minutes we spent making out this morning while the girls were showering?"

"YOU WERE WHAT?" Nora exclaimed. "BUT-? Wait wait wait, is THAT why you were both in your underwear when we got out?"

"We were just getting dressed," Ren blushed. "We wouldn't lie to you, would we?"

"Totally," Jaune giggled, blushing as well and exchanging a smile with Ren.

"Prove it," Yang grinned. "Let's see a kiss, boys."

They shrugged and kissed, much to the excitement of the girls. "Happy?" Jaune asked.

"Very," Nora laughed. "Soooo? Are you guys dating?"

"We haven't really talked about it yet. This morning came as a surprise to both of us, so."

"Well, you have time now," Weiss suggested. "Perhaps you could talk about here."

Ren blushed and looked at Jaune, "What do you say?"

"I say yes," Jaune replied, taking Ren's hand.

The girls gave a cheer for their friends, and Weiss let out a sigh of relief now that the attention was no longer on her.

"Looks like we're outnumbered, girls," Blake laughed, looking at Pyrrha and Nora. "Protect your straight-ness at all costs!"

"Straight girls gotta stick together," Nora snickered.

"That reminds me," Weiss ventured. "Nora, I could've sworn you and Ren were a thing the day I met you. And you've shown every sign of being head-over-heels for him."

Nora blushed and shook her head, "We're not together! Yeah, you could say I've always had a crush on him, but he's basically my brother, so I'm happy for him no matter what. If he's happy with Jaune, then I'm happy. Plus, I feel like I'd break him if we ever slept together."

"Excuse me?" Ren asked with an amused smile. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Ruby grinned and turned to Weiss, "Remember when we were the news of the morning? Kinda nice to have it be them now."

' _You have no idea,_ ' Weiss thought, going back to her breakfast. ' _This still screwed everything up, though. Yang might be fine on the outside, but I doubt she'd ever want to date me knowing that I slept with her sister... Things just got a lot more complicated._ '

* * *

The morning turned to afternoon, and the group and split up for their classes. Yang had just gotten out of her writing class and was on her way to the gym like she always did, but she wasn't as excited as she would normally be.

' _I really don't wanna go to chemistry,_ ' she sighed to herself. Chemistry was in an hour, and her lab partner was Weiss. ' _How do I even look at her the same way? She... No, no, this is stupid. So what if she slept with Ruby? It was a crazy accident, they're not a thing, so why does it bother me so much? GAH!_ '

She walked through the hall against the wall of other students leaving their classes, and spotted the girl that was occupying her thoughts down the hall. She knew she had to option to avoid her now, but there didn't seem to be a reason to do so. "Weiss!" she called out, waving her hand.

The heiress turned around saw who was calling her, and waved back as she walked over. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Yang shrugged. "Just get out of class?"

"Mhm. I've got an hour to kill before chemistry, so I'll be in the library."

Yang smiled as she got an idea, "You could, or you could come with me. I'm headed to the gym. We could work out together before we head to chem."

"Hmm... I don't see why not," the heiress shrugged. "I could stand to put on a little more muscle. Let's keep it light today, though."

"You got it," Yang chuckled, and the two headed for the gym.

Weiss made a quick detour to get a set of more appropriate clothes first, then they made their way to the locker room. They both changed into a tank top, sports bra, sneakers, and sport shorts, and Weiss couldn't help but laugh when Yang needed a second sports bra to keep her chest contained. Yang took her to a section filled with mats, pull-up bars, and dumbbells so they could have a light workout just like Yang promised.

"Hold my feet?" Yang asked as she lay down to do sit-ups. "I'll do the same for you after."

Weiss nodded and did as instructed, "Want me to keep count?"

"Yes, please," Yang smiled as she got started. She was keeping count in her head as well, but having a second was always good. She loved to push herself, so every repetition counted.

"Forty-six... Forty-seven..." the heiress counted aloud. "What's the most you've done?"

Yang grinned, "My r-record is ninety-six. Ma-aybe I'll try beating it today."

"Oh wow," Weiss replied, clearly impressed.

Yang kept going, and she felt as though she was having an easier time than normal. Having Weiss there was motivation to show off a little, and the idea of impressing her crush seemed to give her an extra boost of strength.

"Ninety-eight... Ninety-nine... One hundred!" Weiss cheered, and Yang finally lay back to stop.

"Holy shit, I did it," she panted, needing a moment to catch her breath. "Was not expecting that."

Weiss chuckled, "So humble. I'll be happy if I can do half that."

"You might surprise yourself," Yang smiled, and switch positions with her teammate.

Weiss managed forty-five sit-ups, which she was more than happy with. They moved around the room together, and their exercises quickly turned into competitions. Pull-ups, dumbbell lifts, jumping jacks, everything. Weiss soon decided that taking it light wasn't worth it, and challenged Yang to beat her at the bench press.

"You're out of your mind, Schnee," the brawler grinned. "Those little twigs are probably gonna snap."

Weiss smirked back, "Then you've got nothing to worry about. Cocky enough to put your money where your mouth is?"

"Oh, you are SO on! What's the bet?"

"Hmm..." Weiss pondered, looking around for a moment. "The loser... Oh! The loser has to streak back to the dorms after class."

"Done," Yang agreed in an instant, and the two shook hands. "Prepare to streak."

The bar itself weighed fifty pounds, and Yang added another fifty to each side for a total of a hundred and fifty pounds. She could see Weiss looking a little nervous from seeing how much she was benching, and was already feeling confident. The heiress spotted her, and she had hardly any trouble doing fifteen reps at that weight.

"Well shit..." Weiss grumbled as Yang set the bar down and stood up.

Yang smirked and put her hands on her hips, "What's the matter, ice queen? Bite off a little more than you could chew?"

Weiss shot her a glare, and took a moment to decide how she wanted to proceed. "What happens if we tie?"

"Tie?" the blonde asked, amused. "If you can tie me then I'll streak. I don't think you can do it."

Weiss didn't have that much confidence in herself either, but that wasn't going to stop her from trying. She lay back and took a few deep breaths as Yang stopped her, then reached up and lifted the bar. She made it through three reps before Yang needed to help her lift the bar off her chest and set it back on the stands.

"You're the math wiz, Weiss," Yang giggled. "Fifteen is bigger than three, right?"

The heiress rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah. Any chance you'll count me in my underwear as streaking?"

"Not a chance! Butt naked. Next time, remember who you're dealing with. Maybe I'll show a little pity."

"Fuck you," Weiss laughed, deciding to have a fun. "At least I don't need two bras to keep myself from flashing the entire gym."

Yang raised her eyebrows, "That's true, but it's better than having tits the size of mosquito bites."

"Oh yeah? Well, I fucked your sister," Weiss shot back, thinking she was quite clever until she saw the glare her teammate was giving her. "Too far?"

"You get to use that just this once," Yang replied, starting to smile. "Otherwise I'll have to go sleep with your sister."

"She wouldn't. She's straight."

Yang smirked, "So is spaghetti until it gets wet."

"Ewww! That's my sister!" Weiss whined, not liking the mental picture she'd been given.

"And Ruby's mine," Yang shrugged. "Trust me, the thought of you fucking her is just as squibbly for me as the thought of me and Winter is for you."

"Fair enough. I won't bring it up anymore as long as you stay away from Winter."

"You mean I don't get to get even?" Yang pouted just to mess with her teammate. "An eye for an eye doesn't apply to banging siblings?"

"No," Weiss flatly replied, rolling her eyes.

They both laughed and decided it was time to get changed for class. Both girls noticed the other stealing glances while they changed, and that was the first time they started to pick up on the fact that the other might like them back. They were both too nervous to say anything about, though, so they simply blushed and hurried to class. They took their seats at the lab tables and groaned when they saw that the chalkboard was covered in chemical equations.

"Crap," Yang sighed. "Another pop quiz. I hope you've been following along better than I have."

"Of course I have," the heiress grinned as their professor arrived.

"Afternoon, class," he greeted them. "Your assignment is listed on the board. Call me over to observe your finished reaction, and you'll be free to leave early. Good luck."

"Okay, let's see..." Yang grumbled, looking over what they had to do. "I'll start preparing the solutions if you can figure out how much stuff we need to add to them."

"On it," Weiss smiled, happy that they had a rhythm down for these kinds of labs. "So what're your plans for the rest of the day?"

"Drool over the thought of Ren and Jaune. You?"

The heiress chuckled and rolled her eyes, "What is it with straight girls and gay couples?"

"Well, I'm not straight, but two hot dudes getting it on is a pretty great mental image," the blonde grinned. She starting mixing the beakers they'd been given, but then a thought crossed her mind. "So uh, anyone you've got your eye on? And please don't say Ruby."

"No, it's not Ruby," Weiss replied. "I told you; it was-"

"Relax, I'm just teasing. So it's not Ruby, but that means there is someone, hm? Do I know her?"

Weiss turned to her teammate with an amused smile, "Yes, you know her."

"Well tell me about her," Yang smiled as she continued to work. Unfortunately, she was a little too distracted to realize that she'd grabbed the wrong beaker. "She's gotta pass the Yang Test before she can date my teammate."

"She's cute, tall, blonde, and in this room."

They both blushed, seeming to realize the same thing at the same time. Had it not been for a sudden and bright flash, they might've said it out loud.

* * *

Back in the dorms, Ruby and Blake were both relaxing in their beds. Blake was doing math homework, and Ruby was waking up from a short nap.

' _Mmm, that hit the spot,_ ' she smiled as she yawned and stretched. ' _What time is it?_ '

She rolled over to look at the clock, but didn't realize how close she was to the edge of the bed. She yelped as she plummeted to the floor, landing in a pile of sheets and blankets as she pulled them down with her.

"Good morning," Blake laughed as her leader groggily got to her feet, looking rather embarrassed. "Have a nice nap?"

Ruby gave an irritated sigh, "I was until the floor interrupted. Still doing homework?"

"Unfortunately. Calculus isn't my strongest subject."

"Maybe I can help," Ruby smiled, walking over and taking a seat on her teammate's bed.

Blake grinned, "You think so? I thought you'd just want an excuse to be in my bed."

"I hate you," the redhead giggled, blushing a little. "C'mon, just because I like you doesn't mean I'm always trying to seduce you."

"Oh I know, I just like to tease you. By the way, Sun and I were out shopping and I bought a little black dress that's the perfect mix of tasteful and slutty. Wanna see?"

"Duh!" Ruby replied instantly, and turned an even brighter shade of red. "You're gonna be the death of me, ya know that?"

"Nahhh," Blake giggled, giving Ruby a playful peck on the cheek. "I'm just having a little fun is all~. No harm, no-"

Before Blake could finish her sentence, the door suddenly swung open as Weiss and Yang returned from class.

"Hey, guys!" Ruby cheerfully greeted her teammates. "How was-?"

"Your sister is fucking dead to me," Weiss growled before storming into the bathroom and shutting the door.

"I SAID I WAS SORRY!" Yang exclaimed as she walked in behind her. "It was an accident, okay? THEY HAPPEN!"

The brawler slammed the door and let out an exasperated sigh, then set down her backpack and collapsed on Blake's bed. "Sure, you can lay here," Blake sarcastically remarked.

Ruby shook her head and gave her sister a pat on the back, "I sense a fun story coming up."

"IT'S NOT FUNNY!" Weiss yelled from the bathroom, making the rest of her teammates laugh.

Yang shook her head, "I messed up what we were doing in chemistry class and sorta made a big fireball. Weiss is kiiiinda missing an eyebrow."

"I'M MISSING HAIR TOO!"

"Well you wanted it shorter, didn't you?"

"I SWEAR TO GOD I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!"

Blake rolled her eyes, "Alright, children, that's enough. Big girls solve their problems with words, not violence."

"YOU'RE NEXT, BELLADONNA!" Weiss furiously yelled from behind the bathroom door.

"It's okay, Weiss," Ruby smiled. "Would you feel better if we had sex again?"

"WHY DON'T YOU-" Weiss began, then stopped herself. "Yes, actually. Yes I would. What do you think about that, Yang? Me and your sister getting on right here and now?"

"Can we not?" Blake asked, trying to defuse the situation. "Weiss, it can't be that bad. Yang, you would go berserk if Weiss burned some of your hair, so don't downplay it for her."

Yang grumbled, "Yeah, you're right... Sorry, Weiss. Anything I can do to make it up to you?"

"Nothing comes to mind," Weiss angrily replied, still not leaving the bathroom. There was a short pause, followed by the sound of the shower running.

"Let her cool down," Ruby suggested. "You'll never get anywhere while she's this mad."

Blake nodded, "And she's probably on edge after this morning. Give her space and wait until she's ready to talk. In the meantime, you should probably start thinking of a good way to apologize."

"Can do," Yang smiled.

' _Well fuck..._ ' the blonde thought. ' _How did this afternoon go from me almost asking her out to her hating me? And how do I even begin to apologize to someone like her for something so big? I- Oh... That could work... Am I really willing to-? No no no, that's crazy. I mean, yeah, I love my hair the way it is, but... she'd know I really meant it..._ '

"Yang?" Blake asked, bringing her partner back to reality. "You okay? You really zoned out."

The brawler smiled and nodded, "Never better. I'll be back in an hour or so. I know how to apologize."

 **Hey, I got a chapter out in a reasonable timeframe! That hasn't happened in a while. XD Hope you enjoyed the antics, and I'll see you next time!**

 **Next time:**

"Okay, so what do we do about Weiss and Yang?" Ruby asked.

"Lock them in a room until they kiss?" Blake chuckled, and Ruby couldn't deny that it could work. "Or just yell 'She likes you, you idiot!'"

Ruby laughed, "No kidding. No matter what, we're not letting them go to bed without having kissed. Sound like a plan?"

"Perfect," Blake grinned.


	6. Fire and Ice

**Hi everyone! Welcome back! Sorr it's been so long, but real life sucks sometimes. I hope you enjoy the chapter! (:**

Chapter 6: Fire and Ice

Weiss emerged from the bathroom and hour later, and in truth, the damage wasn't as bad as she was making it out to be. The singed hair wasn't significant, and she could easily draw her eyebrow back on until it grew back. That didn't change how angry she was, though.

"Where did Yang go?" the heiress asked once she was calm enough to speak again.

Ruby shrugged, "She left a little while ago mumbling to herself about how to apologise to you. She really is sorry."

"Sorry doesn't fix anything," Weiss callously replied. "I wouldn't be so hard on her if she actually took things seriously."

"I think you just take things too seriously," Blake ventured with a small shrug. "You can blame each other all you want, but you both know you're equally at fault and just don't want to admit it. My suggestion? Be the bigger person here and tell her you're sorry for overreacting."

Ruby nodded along while Weiss glared at her teammate, "She's right, Weiss. You guys go from best friends to mortal enemies and back at least once a day. Just take a deep breath and go back to being friends."

"Bite me," the heiress grumbled, knowing her friends were right.

"Okay," Ruby grinned, and playfully nipped at her partner's shoulder. "Feel better?"

"I hate you. Okay, okay, fine. I'll be the bigger person and let it go, but only if Yang apologises first. I think that's fair."

Blake rolled her eyes, "She did apologise. Like, ten times. That's what I'm talking about; she's sorry, so just let it go."

"I guess so... I-"

Before Weiss could finish, the door opened and Yang walked in with one major thing different about her; her long, flowing locks has been cut into a short pixie cut with bangs in the front.

"Holy shit, Yang!" Weiss gasped, completely blown away. "Why did-? You... Wow..."

Yang smiled, "You like? I'm pretty happy with it, actually."

"But why?" Ruby asked. "I thought you were growing it out to your feet?"

"I was, but to be honest, having it so long was hell. I could be an Eagle Scout from how many knots I've had to get out of it. It was just time, ya know? Plus, I wanted to show Weiss that I'm sorry about earlier. You lost some hair, and so did I. And I donated what was cut off for kids with cancer just like Weiss did. Everyone wins, everybody's happy."

Weiss was almost lost for words, "That... That's so sweet of you..." She and Yang shared a hug, and it looked like everything was back to normal.

* * *

The next night saw the team on their mission to Mountain Glenn. The first day was more taxing than they had ever imagined, and when nightfall came, the girls were more than happy to curl up in their sleeping bags. Ruby took first watch, and the rest of the group was eager to fall asleep. Doubts from talking with Professor Oobleck kept them all up for some time, but it was Yang that was still wide awake after the rest of her team was out.

The brawler's mind was filled with thoughts about far more than her reason for being a Huntress. The thrills she'd sought had more than come to her, the danger that she did so well under pressure with was everywhere for her now, and she could feel herself losing her edge, purpose, and her sanity.

"Hey, Weiss...?" Yang whispered, hoping she was still awake.

"Yeah?" came the heiress' quiet answer. "What's up?"

Yang sighed, "Have you ever done something really, _really_ horrible without meaning to, but you couldn't stop afterwards?"

Weiss sat up and and turned to the brawler with a very confused face, "What? What are you talking about? Did you do something bad?"

"Mhm..." Yang nodded, staring up at the ceiling with small tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. "I did something awful..."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Weiss asked, and Yang simply shook her head no, sniffling a little and wiping her nose and eyes. "Well, whatever it is, don't hang onto it. You're a great person, Yang. Whatever you did, I'm sure it can't be as bad as you think."

Yang chuckled, "Yeah, right. Thanks, Weiss. Sorry I woke you."

Weiss smiled and softly tousled her friend's hair, and settled in against her pillow for the night. Sleep was a long way off for Yang, and when it finally came, she had nothing but nightmares.

* * *

"It wasn't me! It wasn't!" Yang screamed as she struggled against two large men that were dragging her down a dimly lit hall. "Please! You're making a mistake! IT WAS-!"

A hard punch to the gut knocked the wind out of her and left her speechless until the men opened a metal door and threw her inside. She tumbled and came to a stop when she slammed into a chair, and had a splitting headache as she slowly got to her feet.

"Sit," Ironwood commanded from the other side of the table. "You and I have a lot to discuss."

Yang hastily did as she was told, folding her hands in her lap and keeping her eyes on the general, "Please... I swear it wasn't me..."

"Eight officers are dead, and the shotgun shells left at the site match yours. You're going to tell me why you did this, Yang. Tell me now, and I promise I'll be merciful."

"But it didn't!" Yang insisted. "Someone set me up! You know me, general! I admit I can get hot headed at times, but I'd never do something like this! I'm not a bad guy! I'm not a murderer!"

Ironwood sighed and shook his head, "Then you leave me no choice..."

The general and the table faded away as the roof morphed into a prison cell. Yang looked down in horror to see she was wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, and she immediately ran to the bars to get someone's attention. "Hey! HEY!"

"Pipe down!" a guard hissed, slamming his baton on Yang's fingers that were wrapped around the bars.

The brawler recoiled in pain, "You don't understand! I shouldn't be here!"

"Yeah, right. That's what they all say. You'll still take the lethal injection like everyone else."

"L-Lethal...?" Yang stammered in horror, her mouth suddenly going bone dry. "N-No... No no no! There's been a mistake! I-!"

"Shut up!" the guard bellowed, making Yang shrink back to the corner of the room out of fear. "Make peace with whatever god you have. I guess whatever demon for you, butcher."

"I'm not a butcher!" Yang wailed as the cell morphed again to a white room with a single white bed in the middle. Yang was suddenly grabbed and forced onto the bed as leather straps were put over her ankles, things, chest, check, and wrists. "No no no! Please! You have the wrong person!"

A woman in nurse scrubs approached the bed with an IV that was connected to one of several bags hanging beside the table. "Relax, dearie. All are equal in my eyes. Just breathe for me, okay? It'll be over in the blink of an eye; just like falling asleep."

"I don't wanna die..." Yang sobbed, trying her hardest to break her restrains and failing. Not even her semblance worked, leaving her helpless. "Not like this... No... Please..."

The woman ignored her pleas and pushed the IV into a vein in her upper forearm. Yang continued to fight, but her struggles steadily grew weaker and weaker until her couldn't move and was fighting to keep her eyes open.

"Just let go, honey," the woman said with a gentle smile. "It's almost over."

"No... No..." Yang whispered, fighting with whatever fractions of strength she had. She was powerless against the medication, and soon her whole world faded to black, her hearing went from a high-pitched whine to dead silence, and her thoughts faded into the black nothingness.

* * *

"AHHH!" Yang screamed as she sat upright in her sleeping bag, sweat dripping down her forehead. "Wha-? Where? Oh... Oh thank heavens... It was just a dream..."

She looked around for the comforting sight of her teammates, but none of them were there. She groggily sat up and got dressed, wondering if they'd all started hunting Grimm without her, when Blake's voice pierced the air.

"YANG! HURRY!"

The blonde didn't need to hear anything else, and was dressed and combat ready in a matter of moments. She leapt of the building they'd used as shelter and sprinted toward where Blake's yell had come from. She found her partner and the rest of the group kneeling around a large crack in the earth. Then she noticed that they weren't all there, and a horrible feeling grew in her stomach. She knew where this crevasse led to, and who was down there.

"Where's Ruby?" she asked, fear in her voice.

Blake didn't reply, and instead point to where Crescent Rose lay a few feet away from the crack.

"I think we found what we're looking for," Weiss said. "And I think Ruby found it first."

"Then it seems that we have no other course of action," Oobleck replied, taking a long gulp from his coffee mug. "We must find Miss Rose and put a stop to whatever underground crime network is bringing such an abundance of Grimm above."

Yang didn't wait for further orders and leapt down into the hole, an increasing feeling of dread washing over her. She was greeted by White Fang goons and she expected she would be, and she wasted to time barreling through them and further into the tunnels.

"Someone kill her!" Roman's faint voice came from the distance, and Yang looked up to see Ruby running from him. Ruby seemed to have seen her as well, and was dodging bullets as best she could until a group of White Fang surrounded her.

Yang screamed in rage, her eyes red and flames bellowing from her fists as she slammed into the men and women, throwing them against the walls and ceilings. "RUBY!" Yang exclaimed in relief, grabbing her sister and hugging her tightly.

"Are you okay?" Blake asked as the rest of the group caught up.

Yang tuned out their conversation as she looked ahead at Roman with narrowed eyes. ' _You know what the agreement is,_ ' she mouthed.

' _Then keep her out of our way,_ ' Roman mouthed back. "Pack up, boys! We're heading out!"

"Get to the train!" Ruby called out, and the group ran after it.

* * *

"You two go on ahead," Yang growled, staring at Neo. "This one's mine."

She lunged forward at Neo, giving her two teammates time to run past and into the next train car. They traded blows until Blake and Weiss were out of sight, then stopped and looked at each other.

"Sup, Yang?" Neo asked, walking over to her. "Get the job done?"

The blonde sighed and nodded, handing the girl a memory stick, "Cinder's virus is in the system. Nobody suspects a thing."

"Not bad, rookie. Keep it up and we might just-"

"Fuck off," Yang scowled. "You know the only reason I'm still here is because it's too late to back out. If Cinder hadn't tricked me into killing those miners, I'd be kicking your ass right now."

Neo smirked, "Yeah, but backing out now means you go to jail, and get to watch Ruby die before you're locked up."

Yang clenched her fists, fire in her eyes. "Tell Cinder I wanna talk to her," she said. "Once you guys have what you want, I'm out. I'm not criminal, and I'm not a murderer."

"Say whatever helps you sleep at night, but you've killed nine people for us, and that makes you a criminal and murderer," Neo chuckled.

"Why? Why are you doing this to me?" Yang asked, feeling powerless. "You already got what you wanted from me the first time. You have my word that I won't blow your cover, but I just can't do this. I'm not a bad guy."

Neo slowly strutted over to her blonde friend and foe, a wicked grin on her lips. "Maybe we can come to some other-?"

"Go fuck yourself," Yang growled. "Preferably with that parasol. See if you can get it handle-deep up your ass. Tell Cinder I'm done, and stay the fuck away from me."

Neo pouted, "Would I have a chance if something unfortunate happened to Weiss?"

"I'd make you hurt in ways you can't even imagine if someone happens to Weiss."

"Hmm, those are slim odds... I'll still take 'em, beautiful."

Neo leaned in for a kiss and was met with Yang's fist in a right hook to her jaw. The blow sent her flying across the car and through a stack of crates. "How's that for slim odds?" Yang replied.

Neo grumbled and spat out blood as she got up and dusted herself off, "Fine, fine. I'll tell Cinder you want out, but I can't promise she'll let you go."  
"I didn't expect you to. Now fuck off and tell her."

Neo scowled and gave her middle finger before teleporting away. Yang stood still for a moment, rage burning inside her as she stared at where Neo had stood. She fell to her knees, putting out her hands to brace herself on the cold floor and screamed in pure frustration and anger. Anger at herself for what she'd done, frustration that she couldn't back out now, guilt for the people she'd killed and knew she'd hurt in the future, and shame because she was too afraid to try to turn Cinder and her lackeys in to the police or military.

"Mark my fucking words, Neo," Yang growled, slowly returning to her feet. "One day I'll make you suffer."

* * *

"That's enough adventuring for one day," Ruby groaned as she and her teammates finally arrived back in their dorm after their mess of a mission.

Blake chuckled as she followed in behind her, "One day? Try a month."

"Or a year," Yang added before collapsing in the middle of the rug.

"Your bed is right there, genious," Weiss teased, kicking off her new, black combat boots and laying down in her own bed.

Yang shrugged, "Toss me a pillow and I'll be fine here... Actually I'm good. Zweiii~!" The dog happily ran over at the mention of his name, and curled up at Yang's head she she could use him as a pillow. In a matter of seconds they were both asleep. Weiss followed shortly after, leaving Ruby sitting in Blake's bed while they both talked about the day.

"Did this give you any answers?" Ruby asked.

Blake sighed and shook her head, "No. If anything, it just rose more. Why is Roman working so closely with them? What were they planning on doing with that train if we hadn't gotten there? GAH! Nothing about this makes sense!"

"Hey, hey, it's alright," Ruby smiled, lightly rubbing her teammate's shoulder. "Roman is behind bars because of us. I'd' say that's definitely a big win. We don't have any more leads, so for now I think we celebrate what we accomplished, and try to get back to a normal school schedule."

"Agreed," Blake smiled back, then glanced over at her two sleeping teammates. "So what should we do about those two?"

"Lock them in a room until they kiss?" Ruby chuckled, and Blake couldn't deny that it could work. "Or just yell 'She likes you, you idiot!'"

Blake laughed, "No kidding. No matter what, we're not letting them go to bed without tonight having kissed. Sound like a plan?"

"Perfect," Ruby grinned.

Weiss woke up to an empty room about an hour later, and sleepily mumbled to herself as she reached for her scroll to see where everyone had gone. ' _Playing Remnant with JNPR,_ ' Ruby's text read. ' _C'mon over if you wanna join._ '

"Pass," the heiress said out loud, and stretched before walking to her wardrobe and put on sweatpants and a "Team VDKA" t-shirt. "Time for a little time to my-"

"Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT!" Ruby swore as she suddenly stomped into the room. "Ren and his stupid brain..."

"I take it you lost?" Weiss giggled, very amused.

The leader pouted, "Yeah, I lost. We bet on the game though, so now I have to go to classes commando tomorrow; no panties or leggings. I'm gonna die."

"No you won't," Weiss chuckled. "Sparring class is going to be very interesting, though."

Ruby's eyes shot open, "CRAAAAP! I forgot! Everyone's gonna see my flower!"

Weiss couldn't help herself and laughed, "Your _flower_? Really?"

"Well what do you call yours?"

"My vagina, you dolt. Just keep your legs together when you're doing flips and I'm sure you'll be fine. And you'll probably wanna keep your legs crossed whenever you're sitting down."

"Everyone's gonna stare at meeee!" the leader whined, burying her face in her pillow. "Now I know how Yang feels!"

Weiss blushed, "I guess that's true. Hey, speaking of Yang..."

Ruby opened one eye, "Yeah?"

"Is she uh... Still mad at me for the way I freaked out?"

"Of course not. She was never mad at you in the first place. Remember when she cut her hair to a pixie cut as an apology?"

"I know, I know, I just..." the heiress began, but didn't know where she was going with that thought. "Is she uh... Is she single?"

Ruby rolled her eyes, "Oh my God, will you just kiss her already? Watching the love hate blah blah blah between you two is almost painful at this point."

"I-" Weiss began, then gave her partner an odd look. "Wait... You're saying... she likes me back?"

"You can't seriously be that blind, can you? She practically asked you out already before she blew your eyebrow off!"

The realization swept over Weiss, but in truth, it was more of a relief than anything. She'd known that Yang liked her, or at least she'd been very sure of it, but having someone else say it out loud finally gave her the confidence she needed to more forward with it.

"Thanks, Ruby," Weiss smiled, and started across the hall.

Ruby grinned, "Good luck!"

Weiss threw open JNPR's door and stared across the room at Yang, "You told Ruby to set me up with you, didn't you?"

"Wh-What?" Yang asked, taken completely off guard. "I-I don't know what you mean." The rest of the room could feel the tension, and quietly excused themselves over to team RWBY's room.

"Don't lie to me," Weiss replied, walking over to her teammate.

Yang contemplated her options for a moment, although it seemed pointless to fight it now. She got up and stood silently for a moment, thinking about what to say and how to say it. The only thing she wasn't sure of now was how Weiss was going to take it, but judging by the way she was acting, her hopes weren't very high.

"Alright, fine," she sighed. "I did. I asked Ruby to help set us up because... because I was too nervous to do it myself, especially after the whole chemistry thing. I'm sorry..."

The heiress' face softened, "Why were you so afraid? You haven't had trouble asking me to do anything else with you."

"Well... yeah... but those were all as friends, and I was just afraid of messing that up. I didn't want us to not be able to hang out if you said no. I like you, Weiss. A lot. I wanna be with you... I couldn't shake the thought that things would be so awkward if you turned me down that we'd stop being friends..."

"Of course we would stay friends," Weiss smiled, putting her hand on Yang's shoulder.

The blonde gave a small smile in return, "Thanks. I'm sorry, I should've just been forward about it instead of making it all weird like this. So, we can just forget about this and move on? Stay BFF's?"

"Not a chance," Weiss giggled. "You're not the only one trying to set us up. I would've asked you out if you hadn't blown up our table."

Yang went to respond, but immediately stopped herself. All she could do was stare at Weiss with wide eyes, hoping with all her heart that she hadn't heard her wrong. Weiss blushed and continued to giggle, then took a small step closer. She cupped Yang's cheek in her hand a moved in for a soft kiss, lingering just long enough to leave her wanting more. Their lips finally parted, but their faces stayed mere inches apart.

Yang was nearly at a loss for words, "I-I... Wow..."

"I bet you weren't expecting that, huh?"

"N-No, n-not at all," Yang stuttered, elated beyond her wildest dreams. "You don't know how long I've been wanting that to happen. I fell for you the instant I met you. I even told Ruby that I knew I'd found the girl I'd be going after."

The heiress blushed and continued to laugh, "I think I knew after our lunch date the day before the docks incident, but it took until the dance for me to finally get it. I just never expected you to like me back."

"Why wouldn't I? You're smart, beautiful, and talented in so many ways. What's not to like? If anything, I thought that someone as high class as you are wouldn't even give a girl like me a second thought. And then after the chem accident, well... I dunno."

"I've thought about us way more than twice," Weiss grinned, wrapping her arms around Yang's shoulders. "So, I think I might know what your answer will be, but would you want to get dinner tomorrow night? I'll take you somewhere fancy, and we'll have the most romantic date you can imagine."

The brawler gasped, acting as if she were surprised, "Why, Weiss, it almost sounds like you're asking me out."

"Well, I am," Weiss smiled, blushing even harder than before.

"In that case, I say yes," Yang happily replied, giving Weiss another kiss. "Oh my God. I'm dating Weiss Schnee. Can you pinch me so I know I'm not dreaming?"

"I'd do much more than just a pinch, but I know that's not your style. Would you like to come to my bed and watch some Remflix instead? Relax, cuddle, make out a bit, whatever you're in the mood for."

Yang smiled and went to answer, but her scroll buzzed before she could say anything. She pulled it out and looked at the name. ' _Cinder..._ ' she mentally read, making her start to sweat. "Um, yeah, I just have to do something real quick. Pick a movie for when I get back?"

Weiss happily nodded and gave her new girlfriend a kiss before she headed out. As Yang made the walk to Cinder's dorm, hundreds of thoughts were flying through her head about why she'd want to see her. She took a deep breath when she arrived at the door like she always did, and opened it to find Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, and Neo glaring at her.

"Wha-?" she began to ask, but in an instant the door was slammed behind her and Mercury had her pinned to the wall with a tight grip around her throat. He lifted her off the floor so her feet helplessly dangled as she struggled for air and against his grip. "Wh-Why? What...?"

"The virus was discovered," Cinder scowled, fire burning in her eyes and at her fingertips. "Care to tell me how? After all, your own words were that 'nobody suspects a thing'. Did you go to police?"

Yang frantically shook her head, still trying to fight her way out of Mercury's iron grip. "I-I didn't, I swear!" she choked out, her cheeks turning blue.

Mercury finally released his grip, and Yang gasped for air as she collapsed in a heap on the floor. She coughed and sputtered, tears rolling down her cheeks and a feeling of mortal terror in her stomach. She braced herself on the wall as she stood up, and leant back against it as she fearfully met Cinder's gaze. She nervously swallowed, not knowing what would happen next.

"So I'm to believe it was just a coincidence?" Cinder asked. Her voice was cold and had a venomous bite behind it.

Yang stammered for a few seconds, racking her brain for what could've gone wrong, "I-I don't know... I did exactly what you said with the memory drive and the virus was implanted. I followed your instructions to the dot! I swear!"

Cinder didn't reply, and simply pulled up a profile of Ruby on her scroll. "Maybe I'll have someone pay her a visit..."

"NO!" Yang screamed in fear, reaching out as if to stop her. "Cinder, I swear on my life that I did what you said. I don't know how the virus was found, but it wasn't me. Please don't hurt Ruby... I'll find another way to get it-"

"It's too late for that," Cinder interrupted, and Yang went quiet. "Not only are we without our control of the tournament, but now Ozpin and Ironwood know someone is trying to sabotage it. And you couldn't even fucking keep your teammates from discovering the train!"

Yang looked on helplessly, "How was I supposed to stop them? Ruby was the one that snuck off and stumbled on it. We had to-"

"You had to do nothing," Cinder growled. "Ruby would've stayed in our captivity until the tournament was over and the train would still still be where it should be. Instead, another piece of the plan is ruined, the White Fang are furious about how many members were hurt and killed in the altercation, and I'm nearly set back to square fucking one."

"You agreed not to hurt Ruby as long as I stayed and cooperated," Yang glared. "That means no captivity, nothing. Yes, I fucked up, but I'm still loyal, and I didn't blow anyone's cover."

"You have until midnight to _prove_ your loyalty, or your sister will die. How's that?" Cinder growled. "The only person that could've found that virus is Ironwood's 'master' systems engineer, Captain Marcus Vine. Bring me his head. Don't fail me, Xiao Long."

Yang sullenly nodded and checked the time, "Quarter after three... That doesn't give me much time. I don't even know where to find him!"

"Then you'd better get started," Cinder replied, and Emerald opened the door for Yang to leave. "Get out."

Yang narrowed her eyes, but she knew she had no choice. She walked out into the hall and had the door slammed behind her again. Her hands were shaking, her mouth was dry, and her makeup was running down her cheeks from how many tears she'd shed.

"Bring her his head..." she repeated, the thought of cutting someone's head of making her want to vomit. "I... Fuck..."

 **Next time:**

"Did you guys hear about that?" Blake asked. "A guy in Vale was attacked last night."

Weiss shrugged, "So? People get mugged all the time."

"No, like, this guy was just randomly attacked. Whoever did it left bite marks all over him. Like, deep bites, and that was it. He wasn't robbed, wasn't killed, just... bitten."


	7. A Date with Death

**Hello hello! Sorry about the wait, college is hard. This chapter is a little on the short side, but I'll make it up next chapter with a longer one. Enjoy!**

Chapter 7: A Date with Death

"I'll tell you where he is! Please don't hurt me!"

"I'm so sorry..."

* * *

"Hey, you're not allowed to be-"

"Shut up."

* * *

"Wh-Why? What did-?"

"It's not personal, but I don't have a choice."

"Please, I-!"

* * *

Yang's entire body trembled as she slowly ascended the stairs of her dorm building. Words and images flashed through her head that she knew would haunt her forever. The extra weight in her backpack felt like it was a hundred times what it was as the guilt of what she'd done pressed down on her. She didn't want to think about the warm liquid she could feel leaking and dripping down her back, or the blood on her out that she'd somehow need to hide from her teammates.

' _Thirteen minutes to midnight..._ ' she thought, checking the time as she approached the door and let out a sigh of relief. ' _I made it... Ruby's safe... Was it even worth keeping her safe? Keeping us safe? So many people have died because of me... at my hands... I can't, I just can't... I'm done. I'd rather die._ '

She turned the knob and entered the room while Cinder and her crew watched. They all wore a look that was more surprised than anything, and Yang could only guess it was because they had expected her to fail. Yang removed her backpack, blood dripping onto the floor, and tossed it on the ground at Cinder's feet with a dull thud.

"There," she mumbled, sounding defeated. "I want out, Cinder. I can't keep doing this."

Cinder picked up the pack to confirm the contents, then turned to the brawler, "And what makes you think I'll let you leave?"

"I won't follow another order you give," she replied. "My sister and I are two people, way less than the body count I'll have if I stay. Either let me go or kill me, but either way I'm done."

Cinder met the girl's sullen gaze and starred for a moment, trying to read every last detail she could out of Yang. There was no hidden plan or doubt in her eyes, though; Yang meant what she said. Cinder stood up and walked over, keeping her eye contact and watching as Yang neither flinched nor looked away.

"You want out?" Cinder asked. "I'll let you out on three conditions. First, you will not blow our cover, or I swear I will hunt down every friend and family member you have before I finally kill you. Second, you owe me a favor for letting you go. Anything, anytime, anywhere. Third, I have one more task for you now. If you can complete it, then once the favor is called in, you can consider yourself out. Do we have a deal?"

Yang nodded without a moment of hesitation, knowing that this was the best, and possibly only, offer she'd receive, "Deal. What's the task?"

An evil smile crossed Cinder's lips, "I think it's time I send a message."

* * *

Two weeks passed as the semester got into full swing, and with the Vytal Festival only a month away, students were more excited than ever to excel and prove themselves to the world. There was only one student who didn't seem like herself, and that was Ruby.

"You sure you're okay, sis?" Yang asked as team RWBY walked back to their dorm after their last class of the day. Ruby had barely paid attention in any of her classes that day, which wasn't like her at all. "Ruby?"

"Ruby?" Weiss repeated, nudging the redhead a little to get her attention. "Are you listening?"

Ruby snapped back to reality and quickly looked between her teammates, "Huh? What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just um... Just feeling a little under the weather is all."

Blake frowned, "Why don't you go to the nurse?"

"It's nothing," Ruby quickly answered.

"Ruby, what's wrong?" her sister asked. "I know you, and this isn't like you at all. Not even sick you. What's up?"

"I said I'm fine," the leader pressed with a sharp bite in her tone that caught her teammates off guard.

"O-Okay... Well, you know I'm always here for you if you need, sis. Promise you'll come to me if you need anything?"

"I will. Thanks."

The girls arrived back at their dorm, and were all happy to put their things away and lay down in bed. Yang hopped into bed with Weiss, which had become their new norm, and Ruby quietly sighed to herself as they did. She didn't know it, but Yang had picked up on it.

"So what should we do with our afternoon?" Blake asked while she adjusted her bow.

Weiss smiled and kissed Yang on the nose, "We're going out to dinner with Jaune and Ren. You two are welcome to come if you want."  
"And third wheel on your date night? Not a chance. I'll probably just hang back and read."

There was a pause where they waited to see if Ruby would add in her plans, but she stayed quiet. Blake picked up her scroll and typed a quick text to Weiss and Yang.

' _Is she okay?_ ' the Faunus girl asked.

' _No idea,_ ' Yang answered. ' _Keep an eye on her?_ '

Weiss typed her response, ' _I'll message Nora and Pyrrha and see if they're busy tonight. Maybe they can keep her company._ '

Yang nodded at the idea, and Weiss went ahead with texting their friends. "Hey, Ruby?" Weiss ventured after a moment. "Nora and Pyrrha asked if you wanted to join them for a game night."

The leader wordlessly stirred in her bed for a few moments, then rolled over so she was looking off the side, "Yeah, that sounds fun. Tell them I'll head over after I shower."

The rest of the team breathed a collective sigh of relief, and started getting ready for their respective evenings. Blake changed into her robe while Weiss and Yang both did their makeup. Ruby stayed in bed for a little while before she hopped down and got in the shower.

"I wonder what's bothering her," Yang said once she heard the water running. "Did anything happen in the last couple days that would've upset her?"

Weiss shook her head while she thought, "Nothing comes to mind. Did she do poorly on an exam or something?"

"Just the opposite, actually," Blake added. "She aced our fairytale exam, and didn't she get an outstanding in combat fitness?"

"Then what's got her so down?"

A knock at the door interrupted their train of thought, but Jaune was quickly to get it back on the rails as he and the rest of team JNPR entered the room. "Ready to go?" he asked, then decided to add to the conversation from what he'd heard in the hallway. "And I think I know what's got Ruby upset."

Yang's attention was instantly on him, "You do? What is it?"

"Easy. She's head-over-heels for Blake but knows it won't happen, all while watching you two be happier than ever."

"That... makes sense, actually," Blake somewhat quietly replied, her ears folding back and making her bow do so as well. "I hadn't even considered that."

Yang frowned, "Me neither... Do you think it would help if we rescheduled tonight? We could-"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Ren interrupted. "If we do, then she'll only assume it's because we're trying to cheer her up, and I don't think that will cheer her up at all."

"So what do we do?" Weiss asked.

Pyrrha smiled and looked over at Nora, "Leave that to us. I think we can turn that frown upside down."

"YOU BET!" Nora exclaimed. "I have SO many ideas."

"Poor Ruby," Blake teased, earning a middle finger from Nora. "Well don't let us hold up the double date. You guys have fun."

Yang and Weiss nodded as they grabbed their purses and headed out with Jaune and Ren close behind. Ruby came out of the shower soon after in a towel, and looked incredibly shy when she saw that Nora and Pyrrha were in the room.

"Oh, hey," she blushed, pulling her towel a little higher over her chest. "Didn't expect to see you."

Nora couldn't help but giggle, "We just thought we'd come over. You don't have to be all nervous around us. I've seen you naked in the gym showers how many times?"

The redhead's blush intensified, "Well... yeah, but that's different. Lemme slip into my pj's quick and we can start game night."

"You sure you don't wanna join, Blake?" Pyrrha asked while Ruby got dressed.

"Yeah, I'm sure. You guys have fun, though.

"Okay, I'm ready," Ruby smiled as she came out of the bathroom in her tank top and pajama pants. "Have fun reading, Blake."

She followed Pyrrha back to team JNPR's room, and the two sat around their table while Nora rummaged through the games they had.

"Hmm... Uno?" Nora asked. "Risk? Strip poker?"

Ruby and Pyrrha laughed at the last option, knowing it was a joke. "Not a chance," Ruby chuckled. "Last time I played a strip game I ended up sleeping with Weiss."

"True, but Nora and I don't do drugs," Pyrrha grinned. "Wasn't that the biggest factor?"

"It was just weed! It's not like we were shooting heroin!"

"We're just teasing you," Nora smiled as she joined them at the table with a box in her hands.

Ruby leaned over so she could read what it was, "Hold 'em and Fold 'em? Never heard of it. How do you play?"

"It's pretty easy," Nora reassured her. "It's the same rules as Five-card Draw, but three cards in each suit have special rules on them. Each player can play one per round, starting with who has the worst hand when we reveal them. If two people have the same kind of hand then we just go clockwise. Like, this one says 'Swap one of your cards with someone else unless they do ten push-ups.' First to win six hands wins. It's a ton of fun!"

Ruby nodded, "I like it! Let's play!"

Pyrrha dealt their hands, and Ruby looked over her cards. ' _Pair of kings, pair of queens,_ ' she confidently thought. She gave her last card back, which was a six, and picked up a new card that happened to be another queen with the stipulation "This card can count as any card if you tell a secret."

"Ready?" Nora asked, getting a yes from the other girls. "Flush of hearts."

"Full house; two's and nine's," Pyrrha added.

Ruby smirked, "Not bad. Full house of kings and queens. I wi-"

"Not so fast," Nora interjected, picking up one of her cards, which was an eight. "'Swap this card with someone else's unless they tell an embarrassing story.' Ruby?"

"Ummm... No thanks."

Nora snatched one of Ruby's kings and put the eight in its place, giving the hand to Pyrrha. A few more hands by without anything crazy happening, until Ruby was against Nora with a straight flush, while Nora had four of a kind. Nora read from one of her cards, "Turn one of your opponent's cards into anything else until they agree to a dare."

"Damn it," Ruby huffed. "Fine, what's the dare?"

"You have to... OH! You have to go kiss a boy."

Ruby blushed and stammered, "U-Uh... Okay... Who do I have to kiss?"

Nora shrugged, "Any boy you want. I would've said to kiss anyone, but I know you would've gone right to Blake."

"Shut up!" Ruby both laughed and and blushed. "Any boy I want... Umm... Well, I guess Neptune is kinda cute. I choose him."

Ruby stood up while Pyrrha and Nora exchanged a cheeky glance, knowing their plan had worked. They followed her over to team SSSN's room and knocked on the door.

"Hello?" Sun answered, and was immediately pushed to the side. "Hey, what-?"

"Sorry, doing a dare," Ruby replied, walking over to Neptune and giving him a long kiss on the lips. She turned to Nora when they separated, blushing heavily, "Happy?"

"Yup! Back to the game!" she giggled while Neptune watched them with a dumbstruck face. "Thanks, guys!"

"Y-Yeah, sure," Neptune blushed before the girls shut the door and walked off.

They all burst into laughter as they walked back. "Did you see his face?" Pyrrha smiled, and Nora nodded.

"Priceless! Ruby, you win the hands. That's what? Four for you, three for me, two for Pyrrha?"

While the three of them had a blast finishing the game, the point was never to have Ruby win, or even to just cheer her up for the moment. They had been texting Blake the whole time, seeing if they could figure out of Ruby had a crush on anyone else, and sure enough, her kiss with Neptune gave them a fairly good indication that she liked him. Ruby went back to her room with a smile on her face, which Blake was happy to see.

"Welcome back," the Faunus girl smiled. "Have fun?"

Ruby smiled and nodded, "You bet! We played this card game Nora had and I won!"

"So I heard. I also got a video from Pyrrha of you making out with Neptune. How was that?"

"U-Uh," Ruby shyly stammered, turning bright red. "It was fine. And we weren't making out! It was just a kiss!"

"Uh huh, _suuuure_. That was pretty long for 'just a kiss.' If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you-"

"SHHHHHH!" Ruby interrupted, blushing even harder. "It was just a kiss!"

Blake smirked, "If you say so. Get over me that quickly?"

"Oh shut up. Just because I like you a lot doesn't mean I can't like other people too."

"So you _do_ like Neptune?" Blake grinned, knowing she had her leader corned. The redhead leapt into her bed with an answer, hiding under her blankets. "Relax, you know I'm just teasing you. But if you like him, go for it! What's the worst that could happen?"

"Well... He could turn me down too."

"I didn't technically turn you down, I'm just not into girls," Blake chuckled. "But as far as I know, Nep is into girls, and I don't see him turning you down."

"Really?" Ruby asked, poking her head over the side of her bunk so she could meet Blake's gaze. "Why's that?"

"Call it a hunch," she smiled.

* * *

"Okay, Jaune was wrong; she's sick," Yang said two days later when Ruby was bedridden with a fever of one hundred three point five. "How do you feel, sis? Want me to get you anything?"

Ruby shook her head while she shivered under her blankets, "N-No, I'm okay. Well... maybe some juice?"

"Coming right up," her sister smiled. Weiss followed her out to the store while Blake stayed to take care of her sick leader.

"You're sure you don't want to see the doctor?" she asked for the fifth time, and again, Ruby shook her head. "But you could have the flu! Or pneumonia! That fever is high enough that you should really-"

"Blake, I'm f-fine," Ruby reassured her teammate, then went into another spell of intense shivering.

Blake raised her eyebrows, "That's not very convincing."

"It's only been a day. I-If my fever doesn't bre-eak in another day or t-two then sure."

"I guess you know your body better than anyone else," Blake replied, although she didn't sound very confident. "You're sure you don't want anything? Some medicine? A cold cloth for your head?"

"A cold cloth sounds nice," Ruby smiled, and Blake was happy to get her one.

Blake went into the bathroom and picked up a clean washcloth from under the sink, and started to run it under some cold water. She happened to glance in the trashcan while she did, and did a double take when she saw it was full of bloody paper towels. "Hey, Ruby?"

"What?"

"Did you have a bloody nose or anything?"

"No, why?" Ruby weakly replied, but then her tone shifted to one more normal. "Is there blood somewhere?"

Blake nodded despite her leader not being able to see it, "Yeah... A lot of blood..." Her eyes moved from the trashcan to a white towel hiding in a pile of others that had a small red stain visible. She cautiously walked over and pulled it from the pile and gasped when she saw that almost half of the cloth was soaked with blood. She shrieked and dropped it, backing up with shaky hands.

"What's going on?" Ruby asked, on her feet despite her illness to come to Blake's aid. She gasped when she saw the towel and covered her mouth. "Wh-What...? Why is...?"

"I-I have no idea..." Blake stammered, a dozen scenarios running through her head while she tried to picture how this had happened, but nothing made sense for it. "That has to be Weiss or Yang's, right? Nobody else uses our bathroom."

"I'm gonna be sick..." Ruby said, and moved toward the toilet.

Blake shut the door to let her have some privacy. She immediately pulled out her scroll and sent a text to both Weiss and Yang to ask if they knew what had happened. ' _It has to be one of theirs, right...?_ ' she thought to herself. ' _I don't know who else would be in there. That... That's so much blood, though... There's no way it was a period accident... How do you bleed that much and be okay? And why hide it?"_

Weiss and Yang ran through the door a moment later with Ruby's juice, and a look of urgent concern. "We got your text," Weiss panted. "What do you mean there's so much blood in the bathroom?"

"When Ruby's finished throwing up I'll show you," Blake replied, then knocked on the bathroom door. "Ruby? You okay?"

"Y-Yeah, you can come in," the leader replied.

She opened the door to find Ruby wiping some blood off her hand and chin, only adding to her confusion. "Wh-What...?"

"I slipped when I got up and got some of the blood on me," she explained, wiping her chin and then her hand on a clean towel. "I'm okay, I'm okay. It's not my blood. Weiss, Yang, what happened? It had to be one of you, right?"

Both girls shook their heads as Weiss replied, "N-No, it wasn't me... That... That's so much blood..."

"Then who was it?" Blake asked, looking between everyone with very concerned eyes. "Someone had to have hurt themself really bad to bleed that much. Why our bathroom? How did they even get in?"

Yang shook her head, "I-I have no idea... Ruby, you should get back in bed. Your juice is on the table. Um... Should we call the police or something?"

"No way," Blake said. "What do we tell them? We found a mysterious bloody towel in the bathroom? They'll assume we... well..."

"I get the picture," Yang sighed, being a very convincing liar. "Weiss, can you go back out and get some bleach so we can clean this up? Blake, grab a big trash bag to put this in."

The girls all nodded and Ruby got back in bed, sipping her juice and not shaking as bad anymore. Yang sighed, ' _Holy fuck, that was too close. What was I even thinking leaving it in here? I should've thrown the towel out right away. Alright, alright, let's just get this cleaned up, and hopefully my team doesn't put two and two together when policy find the body. At least I'm free from Cinder now. Well, I still owe her that favor, but that's nothing. I'm finally free of her._ '

 **So remember when I gave a sneak peek that this chapter at the end of the last one? I kinda messed up, and what I put there is from the chapter after this one. Whoops. XD Anyway, I hope you guys liked the chapter! Sorry about the wait. See you again soon!**


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